When you chose to walk with me
by Lovely-shadow
Summary: Rokian was an amazing hunter with many trophies...But, this time he wasn't interested in just a severed head as a trophy. He wanted a breeder. Unlikely love story. COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

He moved fast, whoever it was. Officer Conder was finding it hard to keep up with the guy. He darted past some bums, and down a filthy alley. The cop turned to follow him and was greeted by the wet hard concrete. He slipped on the freshly rained on pavement. The man he was chasing continued down the alley, quickly becoming a silhouette. Condor got up, nearly falling again, and continued chasing him.

"What the hell was he doing snooping around the missing persons division at 2 in the morning?" Conder thought as he jumped over a fence the suspect jumped over seconds earlier.

" damnit! How can something so small run so fast?!"

The suspect was a small build for a man, maybe 5' 4, 5'5 120 pounds. The only odd thing about him was he was wearing armor...really weird looking armor and a mask that covered his entire face. Conder thought at first it was a woman, but no way can a woman carry, what looked to be 50 to 100 pounds of armor, and still stay so far away from him. But still...the way the guy ran seemed...off. Conder began huffing for air. If he didn't catch him soon, his heart would give out.

"where the hell is backup?!"

He chased the man to a crowded area where he was met with screams and cries of shock. Conder clasped his hand over his left side trying to stop the numbing, sharp pain. The suspect stopped momentarily, giving conder false hope that he had given up, but instead, he took a glance over his shoulder to the cop, then sprinted over to a ladder, leading to the roof of a building, which he scaled in what seemed seconds..

"Doesn't he ever get tired? Too bad he isn't on our side.", Conder managed a weak crackled laugh from between his lips as he headed toward the ladder and began to climb...

Cold air welcomed him at the top of the steps. Conder withdrew his weapon as he placed both feet on the roof. Nothing. Maybe he commited suicide? That was quickly ruled out, otherwise he would have heard screams. He couldn't have jumped to another roof either...they were too far apart. he was here.. just hiding. Conder walked cautiously toward the middle if the roof. There is A LOT of places this guy could be hiding Conder thought, noticing the air conditioners and what appeared to be large moldy boxes. He cleared his throat.

" So, you break into police departments often? You mind I ask what you were looking for?"

His question was answered in Silence...almost. He could hear faint breathing, not like his own, like someone trying to catch his breath. Conder slowly followed the sound, until it abuptly stopped. He held his gun out in front of him, and lurched around the large air conditioner. Nothing. He was getting nervous. The cop didn't know if the perp was armed. He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued on. Suddenly, Someone jumped onto his back, landing him face down in a dirty puddle of water and losing his gun. The officer felt a sharp object being pressed against the flesh of his neck. The officer acted quickly. He reached around and elbowed the man in the chest. The perp fell back , mostly stunned. Conder grabbed his gun and jumped onto the man, holding the gun to his face.

" let's see what you look like, pal."

The cop heard a low growl as he reached for the mans mask. The perp kicked him off his all it's strength, taking Conder and the mask across the roof. Conder coughed hard and grabbed his stomach trying to regain his composure. The suspect, who was at the other end of the roof, gasped in panic with his back to the cop. conder wobbled when he stood, dropped the mask, picked up his gun and held it at the perp.

"Stand up and turn around.Hands behind your head!"

Once again his demand was met with silence. The perp was still gasping, but softer.

"I said get up!"

Conder was tempted to shoot the bastard after making him run so damn much. He eyed the perp. He really WAS a tiny build, who was beginning to shake noticably along with the gasps.

"Turn around!"

The guy's gasp stopped, as if thinking about it. then slowly turned around, causing Conder to nearly drop his gun...A little girl...no older than 16 years old...long Dark brownish/blackish hair that was mostly in hair wraps and braids with...two different color eyes..one yellow, one brown.. and tribalish tattoos on her face...someone who was his daughters age had moved like...that?

The small girl stood up and began to inch backward toward the edge of the roof. Conder lifted his gun at her.

"Young lady, Don't move!"

The girl tilted her head to one side and smiled.

" lovely girl." She said as she jumped backward off the roof. Conder raced toward the edge expecting to see a body ...but instead all he saw were people just coming out of the movie theater below...

" Where...?"


	2. Here is not home

another authors note The girl calls humans Ooumans...just to clear up on some things...

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Michael Conder Leaned back in his chair. He hadn't heard the end of it from his comrades. First he was out ran by a little girl, then he lost her. It wasn't his fault backup was sitting on their asses in a coffee shop. He couldn't shake the image in his head. Her small frame standing at the roof's edge. A strange smile across her tattooed face. A runaway perhaps? Maybe she was part of a cult.. He leaned further back in his chair. How...how could she have possibly jump and just disappear? Something like THAT should have grabbed attention. Jumping off a building and all...He placed his thumb and index finger on his temples.

"Too much paperwork for something I'm not even sure I saw." Officer Conder thought out loud. He raised his arms to stretch and crinkled his nose. He stunk...and very badly. The sweat and dirty water was still caked on his skin and clothing. He stood up and walked out of his office. His mind was much too clouded to think straight let alone right out an entire report. He walked down the hall to a candy machine and put a dollar in. Then took a step back looking at his choices.

"Man Mike, You look like shit."

Michael didn't look over at his rookie partner; he was too busy deciding on either the starburst or the snickers.

"What do you think I should get, Davis?"

"A shower."

Michael smirked and glanced at his friend. Davis was young. Just joined the force recently. In his earlier twenties, attractive, with a military haircut and a five O'clock shadow.

"That didn't make sense. Your never good at making decisions."

Davis leaned against the candy machine and eyed his friends condition.

"Have you gotten any sleep recently?"

Michael pushed a button on the machine and retrieved his snack.

"Haven't had the time. Chief wants to know why and how a kid was able to get into a secured, locked room without anyone seeing her. And because I chased her, I have to file the report."

He unwrapped the candy bar, took a bit out of it and began to walk back to his office when Davis caught his arm.

"I really think you should get some sleep. Go home...take a shower, too. You're no good to the department when you're practically the living dead."

Michael checked his watch. It was almost 3. The whole day was wasted sitting in his office trying to recollect the night before. He knew if he went home now, He'd get a good five hours sleep. He had to meet with a sketch artist around 8 that night. Davis Tilted his head slightly.

"C'mon. I'll give you a ride."

Michael scratched his head and complied.

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Several Years earlier..

Cory watched her from across the street in an alley. She was there everyday practicing ballet until sundown . She was so beautiful. he had to have her. Cory had a brief exchange with her once before that started his obsession. He had went to a ballet recital at the community center, when while she danced, looked right at him...He truly thought she was signaling her want for him. Cory had a bad habit of misreading women's looks. He had been in several scraps with the law involving such matters,but was released on a technicality...His father was rich. He fumbled around in his pants for his switchblade and waited for her to leave her fellow classmates and make her way to the bus stop. She always cut across the park to make it to her bus. He followed far behind her, avoiding other people, who may become suspicious if he came too close to her. She headed for a darker area. Cory's mouth twisted upward. This is where they would be together. Where he would take her. He took one final glance around, then pulled out his knife and ran at her. She didn't have a chance to react. He already had a knife to her throat, his free hand cupped over her mouth, muffling her screams.. Her body shook as tears poured from her eyes as she kicked and punched behind her. He stuck his nose in her hair and inhaled. She smelled so sweet. All he had to do now was drag her somewhere, where he could have her, where no one would see. He pulled her in a direction of a large amount of trees and bushes. He could tell she was panicking, she clawed at his hands and arms. It only fed his hunger. He pushed her on the ground and plunged the knife into her stomach, arms and chest. The girl let out a sickening gurgled scream. He covered her mouth again.

"Shut up! Don't scream! It's okay... I love you. You're beautiful."

He ran the blade across her arms, legs, face and stomach. She kicked and punched at him, trying to get the knife out of his hand, only to get pistol-whipped by the butt of the knife. Cory was getting pissed. She was moving too much. He would have to kill her, then have sex with her..at least she wouldn't fight it. He sat on her stomach and pinned her arms with his knees, pulled his arm back and twisted the knife around to face her. It glinted a dark red in the moon light. He removed his hand from her mouth long enough to unbuckle his belt and undo his top button on his pants. He grabbed her by the throat and raised the knife above his head. She clamped her eyes shut waiting for impact...but it never came. Instead, she heard a weird squishing sound and felt warm liquid hit her face and chest.. She slowly opened one eye. Cory's head was lurched back, blood oozing out of his mouth making his white shirt a crimson red...and...a hole in his chest...about the size of a fist...where his heart should have been.

He still had his hand over his head...when he was suddenly pulled off of her. It looked like he was floating. She sat up and scooted away from him until her back hit a tree; trying to scream, but the mixture of pain and terror only aloud a near silent squeak leave her lips. She heard an odd "clicking" sound as the body was dropped to the ground, making a horrible breaking noise. She tried to stand, but the amount of cuts and stab wounds, she lost a lot of blood, making her dizzy and unable to balance. There was clicking behind her. She turned her head to come face to face with a black mask. She froze. A large man was crouched down beside her; staring...

"no...he..Is he going to kill me too?!...", She thought.

The pain she felt from the wounds was almost blinding. She could feel her life draining from her body. Suddenly, the man's hand snaked out and caught hold of her chin. He moved her head left, then right as if he was studying her, then he lowered his head, looking at the rest of her body. Her vision was starting to go blurry. Every part of her felt like acid was coating her skin. The man continued to watch her slowly lose conscienceness, then slipped his arms under her neck and legs, lifting up the small girl and carrying her into the darkness.

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It was freezing outside which made her uncomfortable. She hated the cold. The girl crouched down beside a gargoyle statue looking down at the creatures below.

"W...why?..."

She pressed her face against the stone monsters shoulder, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Why did you leave me?...Rokian..why?"

The girl glanced down at the pile of armor behind her.

"what did I do?"

The self destruct panel and shoulder weapon was removed from her suit...no...not removed...more like ripped off...She was unarmed and unprotected and thanks to that creature who was chasing her earlier, she was unmasked as well...the only thing she had left was her cloaking device, which was starting to malfunction to the point that it would only work couple minutes at a time. Because of all that, she thought it best to just leave them there.

"Am I not the one you wanted?"

They weren't of any use to her now. Unfortunately the only thing she had on underneath was a skin tight grey and crimson suit which wasn't very warm. She gleamed down the side of the building, weighing in if she could scale down the side. She had been up there half the day. Climbing up was always easier than climbing down.

"Young Lady!"

The sudden presence of another creature snapped her to attention. She spun around to the source of the noise to come face to face with a lanky Older Creature. It was male, Tall with a white shirt, suspenders, green pants, glasses and was carrying several books under his arm. The look on his face made him quiet appalling.

_'what are these things called? Ooumans?...I think..'_

"This area is for employees of the library! Not for so..."

She stood up on the ledge of the balcony area. The man noted her tattooed face and skin tight clothing and turned his nose up to her.

"I suppose If you're here to kill yourself because of your hideous inflictions on your face, then please do it somewhere else!"

He pointed to the door behind him, but she just stood there, growling softly.

"Listen, you little brat! Don't make me call security on..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. The little girl, whom he figured harmless lept across the balcony, landing on him, a sharp object to his throat.

"Rokian...thinks...I'm...beautiful!"

Her voice sounded sore and came slowly. The lanky man began to sweat considerably, and begged for his life.

"Help me! Someone! She's gonna kill me!"

Voices and quick foot steps came from inside the building. She hesitated, sighed and pulled the sharp object from his throat, tossing it to her side..

"Can't kill...unarmed...creatures..."

She called from over her shoulder before jumping over the side of the building.

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Conder was startled awake by the sound of his living room phone. He sat up and sluggishly walked down his hall, his body and eyes protesting every step of the way. He reached his phone finally and picked it up. It was who he hoped it wouldn't be.

"Conder! You Awake?"

The Chief...

"I am now..."

"Good! head down to the Historical Library. There's been an attack."

Conder yawned out an; "oh really?"

"Yeah, The guy that was attacked here said something about a weird girl with two different colored eyes or something like that. He keeps blubbering. We also found some odd metal armor of some sort. It's heavy as hell. No one here can lift it. It sounds like stuff you wrote in your unfinished report..."

Conder felt his heart stop. It had to be her. The teenage girl he saw the night before. He grabbed his badge, gun and shoes and raced for the door. He had to find her.


	3. little lost girl

Several years ago...

She awoke to the feeling of someone touching her upper stomach, running their finger along a wound. Her lips let out a raspy groan. Every cut in her body was screaming out in agony. Who ever was touching her stopped. A soft "clicking noise" shot her eyes open.. The black masked man was leaning over her. She tried to pull herself up, but only managed to loose balance and fall from a metal operation table and slid under it. Her eyes frantically darted around the room. They were in some kind of laboratory. The man didn't move; he just sat there, watching her.

'Why did he bring me _here_!..and where's _here_?'

She examined her kidnapper. He was a big man, at least 6'2...He wore what looked to be heavy armor, tubes, and of course, a mask.

A sharp pain went through her leg . She glanced down and felt her face grow red. She wasn't wearing any pants! The only thing she had on was a tank top, which was cut and pulled up, a pair of panties...and..bandages.

"O...oh..."

She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked away. Her face grew even redder when she felt bandages under her shirt right over her left breast.

The man let out a sigh; reached for her leg, and pulled her back toward him...only to receive a kick in the chest that surprisingly knocked the wind out of him.

"If your trying to get something because you saved me, then y..." She didn't even get to finish. He grabbed her neck and pulled her close to his face. He stared at her from the darkness of the mask. With her neck in one hand, he reached behind his mask and pulled a piece that locked the mask into place. As he slowly removed it, her heart sank deep into the pit of her stomach. He was...a _MONSTER!_ She began to push and punch at him trying to get him to release her. What the hell was_ it_?! With his free hand, he managed to capture both of her wrists in his palm, holing them firmly. He then pointed down to her legs with one free finger. She looked down at her legs; He was in the midst of bandaging up a deep slash to her upper thigh. He let go of her neck and slid his arms under her knees and neck and sat her back onto the table and continued to fix her. He placed the mask back over his face in a rather defeated way. The girl studied him close as he continued wrapping her leg. She jerked a bit when his finger slid across one of her cuts. He was trying to be as gentle as he could. She let out a quiet sigh and opened her mouth several times before she had the nerve to speak up..

"I'm sorry. It was rude of me to kick you...a hit you...all those times... You're only trying to help, right?"

He finished wrapping her leg and moved on to the next injury.

"By the way...Thank you...for saving my life."

He stopped and considered her through his mask.

"I'm Aloine...Pleased to mee.."

He shook his head and put his finger softly to her chest.

"Lovely..."

His voice was deep and velvety. She forced a nervous smile.

"Um..okay, thank you...too...um, do you have a name?"

He thought for a moment. .

"Rokian."

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Officer Conder leaned down by the armor. Everyone who was present at the 'attack' scene tried to lift them. He studied them closely. They were the exact same color and pattern as the ones that girl was wearing the night before. It boggled his mind. 210 pound in shape guys could only lift an arm piece 3 inches off the ground, and that girl could run with all the pieces on. He grinned to himself. The mystery girl was giving the whole department the run around. He heard the one who was attacked talking to one officer.

"She threatened to kill me, then jumped from the building! I thought she had come up here to kill herself. I tried to talk the poor dear out of it, when she yelled at me and brandished a rather large knife. It was horrifying!"

After about an hour of several failed attempts to bag the 'armor', the officers decided to cover the "evidence" with a tarp and keep the balcony off limits. It looked like it might rain.  
Conder decided to slip out the back to catch a cigarette break. He didn't get in 2 puffs before a woman approached another officer only a few feet away. The older woman sounded quite insistent on what she wanted to say, but the officer she was talking to seemed to just blow her off. He walked toward the two, only to be met by the woman in his face.

"Maybe,_You'll_ listen! I think there was an attack..I think anyways."

Conder sighed.

"Ma'am, if your referring to the attack on the roof..."

"NO! I saw a little girl jump from that building I SWEAR on my husbands grave. She landed in that alley and took off toward the park. I think she was crying...and bleeding."

Conder spun around on his heel and looked toward the direction of the park. What an odd child. Jumping from buildings, threatening random people, breaking into police stations unnoticed...and _now_ she was hurt? Conder figured He wouldn't be missed. The chief was too busy yelling at some of the rookies who left finger prints on the armor. He thanked the woman and slipped off. Since the park was only a block and a half away, he chose to walk, stopping people with their dogs heading away from the park, flashing his badge and asking if they saw the girl. One of them said he chatted briefly with someone fitting her description by the jogging trail.

"yeah. I saw her. I think my dog liked her. He went right up to her and licked her face. Funny. He usually isn't so nice with strangers. She was a weird kid, though. She asked me if I knew where a _'tall building with a thing wearing red'_ was...I didn't know what she was talking about."

Conder was relieved to know she could still be in the park. It would only be another hour before the sun went down. He had to find her before then, so if she _did_ run again, he'd be able to see her. but, what was the building with a thing wearing red' He thought for a second as he reached the park. _A...a thing wearing red?_

He entered the park and let out a deep, depressed sigh. He forgot how big Madison park was, and the jogging trail went all around it. He knelt down, tied his shoes tighter, and started walking down the path.

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The girl had never ran so fast in her life. She clutched her side as she pushed her way past several people. Did she really see what she thought she saw while scaling down the side of that building? She retraced earlier that day. She jumped off the balcony, scaled down the side, and heard her someone call her name. It caught her off so guard, she lost her handling, and slammed against a broken flag pole. It hit her side, giving her a nice scrap. She knew what she heard. Her name was called out. The name _he_ would call her. But it wasn't him.. It sounded like...Spike...but that didn't make any sense. She was abandoned on Earth...right? Why would Spike be down here? She thought she saw him standing on the neighboring building, staring down at her, but when she looked again after regaining her footing, he wasn't there.

"I must be going crazy."

Spike was never nice to her in any way. He hated humans, especially her. But, with the hatred, he acted almost...aroused by her. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get the image of him towering over her, whispering things to her that would make any female's stomach retch... She shook the image out of her head and collapsed on her knees in soft, wet grass of a massive area. The sky was beginning to darken.

"Rokian."

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The heavens parted, releasing a heavy blanket of rain as he reached the shore. He fell to his knees gasping for air as water dripped from his body.

"Two timing bastard!", he cursed under his breath. He pulled his mask off, coughing up water. The man stood up and pulled a sharp staff from behind his back. He turned toward the ocean, then back at the city before him. He tightened his grip on the staff.

"Spike...if you've done anything to Aloine, I will kill you.."


	4. I just want to go home

Aloine laid on the cold, hard surgeons table, curled up in a ball. She was recalling everything that spun inside her. Everything was so blurry, all she could remember was ballet class..then there was a man...and a knife..She clamped her eyes shut...

"He..he didn't rape me, did he?"

She shivered and put her hands between her legs. That was the only place that didn't hurt. She sighed, which turned back into a shiver once again . It was too cold in the room for her taste. That man left the room almost an hour ago, leaving her with her thoughts. Something she was sick of. Aloine sat up slowly. Her head was still spinning from before. She let her legs drape over the side of the table as she glanced around the room..I was dim...too dim for an operation room. As her eyes moved across the room, she caught a look at herself in a mirror behind her. Boy was she a sight! A black eye, bandages and half naked to boot! She slid off the side of the table only to realize her legs didn't feel like supporting her. They collapsed under her as the side of her cheek hit the cold ground...hard. Aloine let out a loud groan. That hurt! She sat up...and began to sob. What was going on? All she wanted to do was make it home early to see her dad before he left for work, now she was beginning to think she was going to be killed here, and her father...

She heard a hissing noise behind her. Her head darted toward the noise, only to see 'Rokian' standing in the doorway, with what appeared to be clothes. He tilted his head, noticing her tears, he knelt beside her.

"Please just leave me alone!" she thought as she wiped a tear from her bruised cheek. As she opened her mouth to say something, Rokians massive hand reached out and caught a falling tear. It balanced on his index finger as he studied it. Then he stood, and jestered to the clothing he brought for her. She stared at them, then back to him. He still had the tear on his finger as he turned and began to walk out. Aloine forced her legs to react as she ran after him, only to be met by the metal silver door, locking back in to place. She put her head against the cold metal.

"Please...I..I just want to go home..."

She squatted in front of the door and sobbed even more.

" I just want to see my daddy..."

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Conder wiped the sweat from his brow as he walked along the joggers trail.

"Who would have thought this stupid trail would be so huge."

He stopped to take a drink at the water fountain. Maybe he _should_ have driven.

He turned on his heel and sat back on a bench. He was completely burned out. All he wanted to do was find the girl so he could get some sleep, but it seemed this mystery girl was always several steps ahead of him. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and retrieved one. He never really was much of a heavy smoker, but ever since last night, he's pulled at least a pack and a half that day alone.

" I guess this is Gods way of telling me I'm doomed to these things.."

He chuckled to himself as he clamped the cig between his teeth and continued down the joggers trail.

The girl wandered aimlessly around the park. The Oomans stared, but she was far too tired to care. She knew she looked like them, as much as she despised it.. Her small frame found a lonely bench far from prying eyes, while her thoughts wandered back to Rokian. He was so kind to her...oh how she missed her Rokian...

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After another hour alone and crying in the room, Aloine was beginning to grow more and more cold. She walked to the clothing Rokian had let for her.

She held the clothing away from her then against her...it was...interesting to say the least. She looked around the body suit for a zipper or a button.

"How the heck do I get in this thing?"

She tugged on the fabric, only to realize that it was very stretchy. She removed her tank top after closely investigating the room. She pulled the neck like enough to put her legs and rest of her body into the suit. It felt weird...like she was wearing nothing at all...a second skin. She made her way to the mirror and looked at herself, only to have her face turn red. It form fitted to her body completely. She could see the outline of the bandages...and her bra and panties...

"Yikes...that's unattractive..forget this..."

As she removed the suit, one of her bandages caught in the suit, ripping it off revealing...nothing...no gash; no scar...nothing. Aloine ran her hand across the skin. Curious she removed the suit ; ripping off the bandages, revealing her smooth clean skin. She stared into the mirror, dumb founded. Not that long ago she was almost death from the amount of gashes and blood lost, now...however she was healed...only in a small time. Aloine fell to her knees and sat next to the suit, staring at it. After careful consideration, she removed her bra and panties and put the suit back on. She looked at herself in the mirror again. The suit looked like it had been sewn together from other suits...it was two different color on different spots, with a thick looking belt wrapped around her wrists and her right thigh. It also had a see-through piece of fabric draped over her left side, much like a half of a dress. She fell back to her knees and leaned against the mirror, only for it to move backwards, causing her to fall on her back. Aloine turned onto her stomach and looked behind her.

"It's a door..."


	5. Indecent proposal

Aloine laid on her stomach for a moment debating on what to do.

"Should...I really.."

She shook her head. She didn't want to stay in the little room, and she deficiently didn't want _him_ to come back.

_"Damn...out of the frying pot..."_

Aloine slowly rose on her wobbly legs and began walking down the hallway, using the wall as support. It was a muggy warm down the small hallway. She sighed, irritated at her predicament. The hallway split in to two hallways then again into three different directions. She groaned.

"Does this place ever end?"

She did "innie-minnie-myinni-mo" and chose the farthest one on the left. Aloine looked around the dim hallway. It looked like she was in some type of power plant. There were wires and tubes coming in and out of the walls.

"Maybe he brought me to the power plant over by the edge of town? that's stupid.. why would he bri..""

Aloine stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the end of the hallway.

"W...what..?"

The hallway ended at a large room with high tech looking computers, a flat table much like the one she was laying on...and a window with a lovely view...of space. Aloine felt her legs shake as she left the safety of the wall and slowly walked toward the window.

" I..I don't understand...is this...a joke?"

She put her hand up to touch the glass, when she heard a noise behind her...an odd clicking noise that became all to familiar..only it wasn't just..one noise. She slowly turned around to be greeted by red laser dots hitting her face and body. Aloine froze. There stood at _least _15 monsters, all pointing the laser things at _her_. She Hugged herself as tears began to stream down her face.

"I..I didn't do anything...", She wept softly. "I didn't want to come here.."

One of the "Monster-men" walked up to her. He looked older than the other creatures. His was a look of a battle-worn warrior. He lifted his hand at the others, signaling them as they dropped their hands to their sides. Aloine looked timidly up at him. He was a tall monster; intimidating and seemed very angry. He lowered down to one knee and looked her in the face.

_"where did you..come from?_" He asked in a low, grainy voice. Aloine began to shake visibly. She opened her mouth, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing came out. The man stood up letting out an annoyed sigh and grabbed her by her arm firmly and began touching her body. She inhaled and held it. What was he doing?! He turned her around and began running his hands down her back. A chill ran down her spine when she felt his hands run along her inner thighs and touch her most private of privates.

"_oh,NO!...what's he doing, pricing me?" _She thought. The man then ran his hands up her stomach, then stopped at where her heart was. He touched the fabric, then ripped open her top, revealing a tattoo over where her heart would be. Aloine's eyes widened. A tattoo?! Why didn't she notice that before?! The man glared at her. She shook her head.

"i didn't put that there.."

The other creatures gasped softly, then talked amongst themselves. She didn't understand. what did that mean? The man growled softly, then jerked his head toward the way she came in. There, in the doorway stood Rokian. The one that was inspecting Aloine grabbed her by the arm again and held her in his direction. He began to speak in a language Aloine couldn't understand.

_"this thing is yours?"_

Rokian breathed in heavily.

_"It is my...trophy."_

The man looked down at her then back up at Rokian.

_"You are not using it as a slave, are you? Relations between us and those apes are forbidden. You know better than to bring it on board. We should jettison it out the airlock."_

_"No!..um. Sir. I swear it. She is nothing more than a pet to me..."_

One other creature spoke up. He had a scar over his eye.

_"What the hell were you thinking bringing a breeder on board? Perhaps you were going to sell it back home, huh. Make a little money?"_

The leader snapped at him.

_"That's enough, Spike."_

Rokain shot an icy stare at Spike.

_"Your one to open your mouth, when we have found breeders practically torn apart by your sick ..."_

Spike Lurched toward him with a knife in hand.

_"What did you say?!?!"_

The older One with Aloine grabbed Spike's wrist and twisted it until he dropped the knife. Aloine backed up against the glass, terrified. What was going on?!

_" I said...That is enough, Spike."_

Spike retrieved his hand, glared at Aloine and left the room in a huff. The older one turned his attention to Rokian.

_"Rokian...you can't keep this thing here..."_

Rokian stepped in front of Aloine, using one hand to push her softly against his back.

_"I'm not taking her back , Elder...I can't anyways, it's far too late. Not to mention, no one can not kill or take her away now."_

The Elder shook his head, then Jestered toward her ripped shirt.

_"You do know what that is very unwise to place that there. You know what that means, I assume..?"_

Rokian smirked.

_" Yes, Elder...A marriage proposal.."_


	6. your love is what i wish

**...:3...love you!  
**

**  
**

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Aloine leaned against a tree in park. The sun was going down and it was getting colder. She wanted to cry. She didn't belong on this planet. Everything was so different and scary. Her hair fell in her face as she leaned forward to watch an ant trail. She tried to gather all the events that happened the past couple days, but it was no use. She couldn't remember why she there. She picked up an ant and let it climb on her finger. What an odd world she had found herself in..odd, but strangely familiar.

" I thought I'd eventually find you."

Her head whipped to the source of the voice. It was the Ooman that chased her before. She jumped to her feet intending to run, when he raised his hand in surrender.

" Please...please don't run. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to you."

Aloine raised her shoulders a bit. He could tell she was still on the defensive. He cleared his throat. then motioned for her to sit as he lowered himself onto one knee. The girl studied him, noting his gun, then, cautiously, sat across from him. He sighed relieved. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of before.

"Okay..okay good...now can you answer something for me?"

She just stared at him. Conder laughed to himself. He had no idea how to talk to teenage girls. He only saw his daughter twice a month and when she didn't have her cell phone glued to her ear, she was completely ignoring him. He definitely had no skills in the area. He cleared his throat again.

" Why did you break into police archives? Do you mind telling me?"

She looked at him, then her eyes trailed off to the random people in the park.

"I..look...like them...and ..you...I want to...know...why.."

Conder was confused.

"You look like...", Conder looked around, then back at her. "..I'm not sure I understand..."

"No one...one one wants...me.."

The Cop was getting even more confused. As he watched her, a nagging feeling crept in the back of his head. Now, seeing her in the light of day, her face looked familiar..

"Did...did you run away from home?"

" banished...from home..", She pointed up.

"You came from another country? Where? Canada, Europe, Spain.."

She didn't answer. Conder began to feel pity for the poor thing. She looked like a vagrant that wandered the streets. Aside from the pity, he knew he had to bring her in. If she was a runaway, someone, somewhere was looking for her. He stood up slowly so not to startle her.

"Are you hungry? C'mon, lets go back to the station and I'll get you a sandwich."

The girl stood up, keeping a distance from him. Conder couldn't help but notice she was bleeding slightly.

" Your injured? Are you okay to walk? okay, come on."

He motioned with his hand to follow him, which she complied. As they walked, it began to rain.

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Aloine tried to keep the days straight as best she could. If she'd counted correctly, she'd been imprisoned for a month or so. She recalled "Rokian", as he identified himself as, led her to his room where she was left all day until he would enter to feed her or at the end of the day to sleep. It was a small room. Big enough to be comfortable in, but too small to stay in all day. She felt as though she would go mad. Why was this happening to her? She never did anything to hurt anyone else. All she did was go to school, go to ballet class and come home to make dinner for her loving father...oh, her daddy. How she missed him. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Her father would have no idea where she was. She imagined him panicking, calling the police or retracing her usual route home. Would he find that man who tried to hurt her? See all the blood and think the worst? What if he thought she ran away? The tears that brimmed on her eyes broke and ran down her cheeks. It was all she did when left alone. The first week, she tried to get out of the room and was almost successful at it. She had loosened the ventilation cover and was trying to climb through it when 'he' came back and yanked her down by her leg. He was furious. It was now reinforced with steel. She sat on the tile floor in the corner, where she slept, staring at the door. The only time she was allowed out the room was when she needed to use the restroom, or when he would bathe her. It was humiliating. He'd watch her as she'd strip, then he would wash her head to toe and in between. During those times, she would stare up at the ceiling, pretending she she was somewhere else. It had become apparent that he thought of her as his property. His puppet. How long would it be before he ordered her to do...other things? It was the first time in her life, that she wanted to die.

It was several hours later before he came back to the room. Aloine was tucked in the corner, covering her eyes with her palms. . All her sobbing made her tired and gave her a headache. He could tell she knew he was in the room. Her entire body tensed as she began to breathe a bit harder. Rokian stared down at her with pain in his eyes. He couldn't do it anymore. Rokian hated how he had to treat his human. He acted the best he could to fool the others into thinking he cared nothing for this human. He wanted to tell her to be strong and not to cry, but it had to be convincing. He figured now they were convinced. Now he could treat her the way he wanted to. Rokian approached the broken half asleep girl. He went touched her gently, only for his touch to be met with a cringe. Aloine turned her head to face him and went to stand up when he caught her shoulder, stopping her. She sunk into herself. She looked exhausted. He scooped up the tiny girl and laid her on his bed. She stiffened up, obviously getting the wrong idea. He waved his hand slightly to calm her down. He could speak her language, but not entirely great.

" I..am sorry, lovely...I did..not want...to treat you..the way...i did. I want...to help...you feel..better."

His metallic voice cut through her heart. Tears began to run down her face as she placed her arms over her chest. She was terrified.

" Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry if I disobey you, but I...you..it would hurt too much..I couldn't take it...please, don't..."

Rokian felt even worse. She thought he was going to _rape_ her! The very idea!

"I'm not...going...to mate...with you...I am...sorry..I am...sorry.."

He saw her become less tense. She sat up on his bed, scooting away from him until her back hit the wall. . He understood her actions. He reached up and softy ran his fingers through her soft, dark hair. She flinched a bit. It was going to be a while before he gained her trust. He stood up, turned away from her and pushed a section of wall in. It bounced back out revealing a closet. He pulled out a gray blanket. He closed the closet door and unfolded the blanket. He came up to her and wrapped it around her, then motioned her to relax and lay down. She hesitated, then slowly lowered herself down. He nodded in satisfaction. She stared at him from the bed with a small worried look; tears still running down her cheeks in steady lines. She was so scared of him. Rokian let out a sigh and laid on the floor, putting his hands behind his head.. She sat up immediately and moved cautiously to the edge of the bed and looked down. He stared up back at her and smiled.

"I...will do...what it...takes..to...get...you to..trust me...lovely"


	7. My name is Aloine

AUTHOR'S NOTE : This chapter contains a rape/attempted rape sequence. I toned it down the best i could for sake of younger peoples. I had to warn you, and I did. No flaming because I warned you and if you don't like it, don't read. Thanks for the reviews, guys. Thanks tons!

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Conder kept his eyes on the small girl walking beside him. How could she run and maneuver the way she did the night before? His eyes caught others as they stared at her odd outfit and...her even more odd eye...Honesty, was there such a thing as a yellow eye? Kids these days, using contacts to change their eye color or add some random image in them. He recalled one guy, him and his partner brought in, that had a 8 ball contact. He was too old to understand these generation x kids.

He watched her eye the buildings around her without looking up. Was it possible that was a natural eye color? Conder shook his head at his absurd thought. The lack of sleep was starting to get to his overworked brain. He knitted his eyebrows together and turned his attention back to the girl. He would have brought an umbrella if he knew it was going to rain. The kid had her arms overlapping one another, rubbing her upper arms with her hands. She was shivering slightly and soaking wet. He wasn't doing too hot, either.

"Are you cold?"

She didn't answer, then glued her eyes to the sidewalk. The wind kicked up for a moment, tossing her wet hair into her face. It the damp locks plastered themselves against her cheeks. Conder shivered also. It always got cold at night around this time a year, the rain wasn't helping. Within a month the rain would turn into snow and cover the entire city. They passed several shops until they came up to a souvenir shop lit with neon lights. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Here. Come in here with me for a second."

Conder held the glass door open for her, as they both stepped into the florescent lighted store. Aloine squinted her eyes at the unappealing light. There was so much stuff in the store; over sized hats, beads, snow globes, signs, mugs, shirts and other bedazzled things. A younger clerk in the store did a double take when he saw her. A young pretty girl wearing tight clothing and sopping wet. Almost every guy's wet dream. He could do without the weird things in her hair, though...His stares were met with an icy glare from the girl.

"What is the purpose of all this crap?" she thought as she followed the cop down the aisle of the store. He stopped at a pile of black hoodies and pulled one from the middle of the stack. Then he walked to the counter where a elderly Asian man stood. The old man pushed his glasses up his nose and took the hoodie to scan it.

" It comes to $42.99."

Conder shook his head and dug into his back pocket for his wallet. Forty bucks for a sweater. What was the world coming to? Conder paid the man, then led the girl out of the store. As they walked, He handed her the sweater.

"Put it on. It's cold out."

She held it out in front of her. It said, 'I (heart) cops' in red letters. She cocked an eyebrow and looked at Conder. He smiled back at her.

" What? I think it's funny... Go on...what? You need help?"

She handed the sweater back to him. He removed the price tag and bundled it so the head hole and the bottom of the sweater were touching. He put it over her head and helped her pull her arms through. He stepped back to take a look at her and started laughing. He had to have gotten a size twice her own. The tips of her fingers only slightly poked through the arms and the bottom of the hoodie stopped at just above the knee. Aloine wrinkled her nose in anger, which Conder picked up right away.

"No, no...I'm not laughing at you. It's just... I thought I grabbed a medium, not an double x large...you look fine, really."

He knelt down on one knee and pulled the hood up. It shadowed her face, but still made it easy for her to see.

"There. Now no one will stare at you and make you feel bad. Plus, it'll keep you warm."

She stared back at him blankly. He was the first Ooman she's met that hadn't reacted badly toward her. As they continued to walk, Conder felt her tap his arm. He looked down to be met with a smiling face.

"hm? What's wrong?"

"Aloine..."

"what's that?"

" My name's ...Aloine.."

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Over the passed couple weeks, Aloine was given more trust by Rokian. He had left the door unlocked so she could leave, though he warned not to wander far. He let her shower alone and leave to use the restroom any time. He had also took to sleeping on the floor, while she slept in his bed. Although surprised by the sudden change, Aloine felt less depressed and didn't cry as much.

It was always very early when Rokian left his room. He stood and stretched. Sleeping on the floor wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, but if it would help make up how he treated his lovely ooman, than he was more than willing to do so. He stared fondly at the sleeping bundle on his bed. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he knew he was going to take her. He smiled at the memory.

He was on his third hunt to earth. The last couple times, he had brought a skull back from his hunts, but this time he was looking for something more..unique. As he stood at the top of a building, looking down at the concrete jungle, he spotted something on one of the roof tops. As he got closer, he realized it was a breeder ooman. She was dancing, but not the way he'd seen before. The way she was doing it seemed so soft and elegant. He sat and watched her twirl, jump and move her arms in a soft, steady way. He was so entranced, he jumped down onto the same roof as her. She was so different than the other oomans he'd encountered. It was always weapons and yelling and noise, but this ooman girl-child seemed so happy and nonthreatening. It was the first time he had looked at any ooman without contempt and the want to kill. He continued to watched her dance on the tips of her toes, humming to herself until something below got his attention. Gun fire. He heard her quick footsteps and turned his head to see her climbing down a ladder and into a window, which he assumed was her living quarter. The noise must have scared her...no matter. He would come back. He had found an adequate trophy.

Rokian unlocked his room door by pressing keys on the side of the door. He took one glance at the girl before he left the room.

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Aloine sat up in a groggily stance. She rubbed her eyes and looked to the floor. No creature-guy. She sat up and walked to the door, which slid open when she got close enough. She poked her head out of the room, looking up and down the hallway. Aloine did her best to avoid the creatures the best she could. Rokian especially warned her about the one with the scar over his right eye.

"He...is...bad and...will try...to hurt you...", Rokain told her. When the coast was clear she walked quickly to one of the female 'restroom'. Since she was virtually the only female on the ship, she didn't have to worry about others coming in. Inside, she used the toilet and washed her face and body. As she stepped out of the room to return where she came from, something caught her eye. It was a bright glint of something coming from the end of another hallway. She looked around and got a little closer to the hallway. It was very dark down the hallway and at the end, it was shaded red with that odd glinting light. Curiosity overwhelmed her common sense. She cautiously began to walk the dark hallway, her eyes fixated on the light. As she reached the open area, she realized what it was. The glinting was coming off of a broken down satellite. The sun was hitting the metal at an angle which made it glint. Aloine stared out the opening. Four months ago she thought aliens were just made up by hollywood and science fiction writers, yet there she was; on an alien spaceship, surrounded by Aliens. She smiled and pressed her head against the cold window. There were no planets in view, just endless stars.

Aloine pulled herself away from the glass and turned...right into one of the creatures. She yelped from the shock, then lowered her head and apologized. The creature chuckled darkly, which made Aloine's heart stop. She looked up at his face and saw the scar across his eye. Aloine held her breath and pressed herself against the window. Her mind raced frantically trying to force words from her mouth..

"I'm sorry, sir. I was just...I'll go back to..."

As she tried to move passed him, he caught her arm with his hand.

"where do you think you're going, little ooman?"

Her blood ran cold at the sound of his deep metallic voice. Aloine tried to free her arm, but it only seemed to anger him. He pushed her against the wall with some force, then pushed his weight against her to keep her from squirming.

"You picked the wrong hallway to wander down, breeder. I'm the only one who comes down here."

She began to shake in uncontrollable fear. What was she going to do...what was HE going to do?! The answer became clear when he forced her legs apart with his knee. He pulled himself closer and sniffed her neck. He smiled darkly, then threw her down to the floor. She hit her head, hard, then pushed herself against the wall. He walked to the hallway, clicked a few buttons on the wall and a metal door slammed down across her only means of escape. He turned to face her, laughing softly.

"Virgin...", he whispered under his breath. "Looks like Rokian didn't touch you after all."

Aloine climbed to her legs and grabbed the first unknown object she could find and held it at arms length.

"Stay away from me!"

Spike growled at he smacked her across the face. She fell to her knees, holding her cheek. He got down on one knee and pushed her down onto the ground. He grabbed her outfit and with a quick, violent tug, it had ripped revealing parts her naked skin. Aloine clamped her eyes shut to try and block the warm tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She felt his hand rub against her private, trying to arouse her while the other hand held both of her arms above her head. Aloine felt his course tongue glide along her breasts. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as her lungs would allow.

"ROKIAN!!! SOMEONE HELP!! PLEASE!!! GOD...SOMEONE HELP ME!!"

He answered her screams with another smack to the mouth.

"Shut up! No one can hear you."

He tightened his grip on her arms and with the other tried to remove the rest of her clothing. She still tried to fight back; moving her legs or twisting her body, but it was no use. He was much too strong to fight off...

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Rokian sat back in his chair. He'd been gone from his little lovely for several hours. It was time to check on her. He got up and began the long tread back to his room.

When he made it back to his room, he was alarmed to notice Lovely wasn't there. Curious, he walked to the end of the hallway where the female restroom was. He knocked on the door, then entered...no Lovely there either. He began to panic. He _told _her not to go wandering around the ship. He ran down the hallway further, then stopped in his tracks at one odd hallway. Why were the lights off? He slowly moved down the hallway until he reached the door. He pressed his ear against the door and heard a soft whimpering noise...LOVELY! He took a step back from the door then put his hand against the wall, searching for the buttons to unlock it. His imagination ran away with him as he found the control and entered his password to override the system. The door opened slowly. He felt himself retch by what he saw. Aloine Was sitting on a table with her arms above her head; they were tied together and against a pipe running from the floor to the ceiling. She had her face pointed toward the ceiling, sobbing, her face drenched in tears. Her clothing was ripped and scattered on the floor revealing her naked body and ...Spike had his head between her legs. His hand forcing her legs to stay apart as he licked and plunged his long tongue into her private.

Rokian, at full speed ran toward Spike, reached his arm back and punched him as hard as he could.

_"You BASTARD!!"_

Spike, caught completely off guard, fell to the side. Aloine's head shot forward as she cried out to him.

"Rokian!...Rokian help me, please."

Rokian grabbed the piece of her clothing used to bide her and ripped it off. She jumped to him, rapping her arms around his neck, sobbing. He ran his fingers through her hair.

_"I'm sorry...I'm sorry, Lovely... I should...have checked on...you...sooner."_

Spike stood up and wiped his lip with the back of his hand. He laughed and turned his back to the two.

_" You can't protect her all the time, Rokian. You'll fuck up. You can count on that."_

Rokian turned toward Spike as he made his way to the door.

_"Spike! You touch her again, and I'll kill you."_

Spike just chuckled.

_"we'll see about that."_


	8. did he hurt you?

Authors note: I'm sorry, I know, I left off at a bad part, but I'm back..and the same day too! Boo yah!...sorry, I was writing this and the computer lab I was working in was closing, but I absentmindedly posted it, instead of just saving it, so heres the rest...warning...kinda short.

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Rokian Held his precious little human in his arms as she continued to cry. He pulled her off of him and took her chin in his hand. She was still sobbing and holding herself. It almost killed him to ask...

" Lovely...did...did he rape you?"

Aloine bit her lip and lowered her head and slowly shook it 'no'.

"no...he..um...he just..um.. he was doing...that...so he could...um.."

She tried cover herself the best she could. Rokian brushed his hand against her cheek.

"Is..that all he...did?"

Aloine felt so ashamed. She buried her face in her hands and forced out words between her sobs.

"He... he hit me and...he touched me.. and...I'm sorry..I should have listened to you.."

Rokian pulled her into him and picked the small girl up.

" You did...nothing...wrong.."

He walked cautiously out of the room, down the hallways and to the female restroom. He looked around, before backing into the room. Rokian sat his lovely down, then walked to the shower and turned it on. He motioned Aloine to walk under the water. She stood, covering her breasts and looking down. Rokian's eyes fell. He came to Aloine, picked her back up, and sat with her under the shower. As she sat in his lap with her head resting on his shoulder, he took a rag and gently washed the tears off her face. He washed her neck, her back, her front and her legs. When he tried to wash her private, she covered her herself with her hands. Rokian rubbed her arm with his free hand.

"I promise...I..won't hurt you...I would..never hurt..you."

After a minute, she relucantly removed her hands. He cleaned Spike's saliva from between her legs. He felt her cringe. He stared down at her, sadly. His eyes widened a bit. In the brighter lighting he could see deep red marks on the side of her face and down her arms. Spike had hit her hard. Anger raised in the pit of his stomach. Spike had hurt something Rokian found precious. He was going to pay for what he did. Rokian rested his head on top of Aloine's. They sat there, under the steady stream of warm water, until she stopped crying.

Rokian returned to his room with a bundled up Aloine. He used the towel she normally dried off with to cover her until they made it to his room. He sat her on the bed, then turned toward the closet. He looked through it and found her old backpack she was carrying when he took her. He had stuffed her discarded clothes in it, including the pink, lacy bra and panties. He took them out, turned to her and held them out to her. She stared at them a minute before realizing what they were.

"you...kept my...?"

With shaky hands, she took the undergarments from his hand. He closed the closet and watched her put the panties on, then the bra. She then sat at the edge of the bed, looking down. Rokian wondered why she wouldn't look at him. He sat next to her and took the blanket and put it over her shoulders. He then got up, but Aloine grabbed his arm. Rokian looked down. She had her forehead against his arm.

"Please...please don't leave...I don't...please.."

He thought for a moment, then moved and laid down next to her. He turned to his side to face her and pushed her hair out of her face. She moved close to him and got hold of a strap on his clothing.

"what am I going to do about my clothes?"

She sniffled. Rokian thought for a moment, then an idea sprang into his head.

" I...will ask..my friend, Jovy. She can...make new..clothes. We will go...and ask her...tomorrow...now you..need to..relax.."

She buried her head in his chest.

"I'm sorry Rokian..."

He put his arm around her and waited for her to drift off to sleep. After that terrifying day, Rokian slept in the bed with Aloine every night. She started to feel safe with him, which made him smile. He would protect her...his lovely little ooman.


	9. I will protect you

**I am so sorry for the fans of this fic. There is not excuse for me not finishing this a year or two ago...but I do have a new years resolution...I want to finish both of my fan fics and I will. Thanks to those who hung around and beared with me. Thank you so much!**

**Also, um there is some sexual references and some curse words in this chapter, so there I warned ya! Also, since the predator guys, esp. Spike will go back and forth with speaking human English and their language, so I put it when they speak their language, it _italic, _or slanted...it just makes things easier for me and the reader, really.**

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Aloine was awoken by the feeling of Rokian moving from the bed. She opened her eyes and slightly shivered at the lost heat. She covered herself in the blanket that had been kicked to the edge of the bed. Rokian turned his head to her and smiled faintly. Damn Spike. Because of him, she had no real clothes. She couldn't walk around the ship like that. He'd have to call in a favor from one of his closest friends. He offered his hand to her, which she timidly accepted. He adjusted the blanket around her so that it was over her head like a hood, but she would still be able to see. He opened the sliding door and could feel her start to let out frightened noises; much like an animal caught in a trap. She tried to wiggle her arm out of his grasp, so he pulled at her until he had his arm around her shoulders. Aloine still squirmed a bit. She didn't want that thing to get her and finish the job! Figuring she wasn't going to stop until he said something, he led her softly back into the room. When the door shut behind them, he released her and knelt down. The face she made at him tugged at him. Surely by now she had started trusting him, yet this look she gave him made it look like he was leading her to her death. He brushed her hair out of her face and let out a heavy sigh.

"You...need clothes. Come with me."

The girl stood there staring back at him for several minutes before complying. That other one was larger than her protector. If it came down to it, could Rokian protect her from him? The door opened with a quiet swish as Aloine followed very close behind him. They passed through a door Aloine was forebode to go through before and walked along a long dim hallway. Every once and a while as they walked, Rokian could feel her soft finger tips touch his back whenever he left her limited vision from under the blanket. As they turned a corner, her arms suddenly wrapped around his right arm. Her warm soft flesh pressed against his arm. It made his chest pound and made the forbidden feeling he was suppressing so hard, rise into his conscience again. He swallowed hard and pushed the forbidden thoughts back down into his stomach. As they neared their destination, a deep thick chuckle filled the air. Then the laughter turned into the weird language Aloine failed to understand, but knew who it was immediately.

_"Nice to see your little whore survived the night."_

Her grip tightened on Rokian's arm as she clamped her eyes shut. Not him! Please, not him. Rokian turned his head to the source of the voice. Spike was leaning against a wall behind them. He had his arms crossed with a piece of fruit dangling from one hand. Rokian freed his arm from his human's grip, then motioned her to step behind him. Spike laughed again.

_"Heh, what's wrong? Don't hide her from me. The little whore wanted it. Too bad you had to spoil the party before I had the chance to fuck her."_

Spike's words burned into Rokian's ears. His hands balled up in a fist. He wanted to KILL Spike, but doing so for a ooman would be a dishonorable treason... but, at this point, Rokian believed it justifiable. Spike eyes fixated on the girl as she buried herself into Rokian's back. Rokian glanced back down at her with a curious concern. The concern one would feel for a lover, not a pet. Spike smirked and pushed himself off the wall to approach them.

_"...Or maybe...I'm beginning to wonder, oh, young favorite of the elders..."_

Spike stood inches away from Rokain's face. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper, then changed his language back to English.

"...maybe you truly brought her up here...so _you_ can fuck her."

After the words left Spike's mouth, he felt Aloine release her grip on his back. Her heart dropped. What if Rokian was tricking her? Then everything he had said before...She backed away from him and against the wall behind them both. Without her needing to speak, Rokian could feel what she was thinking. The rage he was suppressing released at that moment and took a chance. Without thinking of the consequences, he swung at Spike, connecting with his chin. Spike lost his balance momentarily then counterattacked with a hard punch to Rokian's stomach. Aloine Screamed as Rokian slumped to one knee, holding his stomach. Spike chuckled as his attention turned from Rokian, to Aloine. She froze. What would she do? What could she do?! His eyes were so cold and penetrating, she felt almost hypnotized by them as Spike took a step toward her. He outstretched his arm to touch her, when Rokian tackled Spike against a wall. Rokian held a small black knife to Spike's throat.

"You will...not touch her ever...again. _I should kill you_."

_"Release Spike, Rokian."_

As he turned, Rokian saw several of his brethren, including the elder, surrounding them. They had been alerted by Aloine's scream. One of the them had her by the arm; the blanket had fallen and been kicked away. Slowly, Rokian released his grip and returned the knife to it's holster. The Elder jestered with his head to the one holding Aloine to release her.

_"Whatever this problem's originality was, it ceases now."_

Spike regained his composure, then glared at his attacker. He pointed angryly at Rokian.

_"Why do you humor this moron's wishes of having this creature on out ship?!"_

The Elder put his hand on Aloine's shoulder. She tensed conspicuously and eyed Rokian for any foresight as to what was going on. His head was bowed slightly as the old one spoke.

_"I do not condone what Rokian has decided, but he has managed to find a loop hole in our system..."_

The elder Glanced at Rokian, who was looking at the ground. He motioned Aloine to go to Rokian, which she did.

_"...We are bound by the words of our law. Rokian has marked the human-child. She is now his __property, his trophy if you will. Remember these words, Spike. The rest of you return to your work. This trip back home will be a long one. We must make sure we make it there without incident..." _

As the others disbursed, Spike walked passed Rokain, but not before whispering in his ear,

"_...She tastes __**great.**__ But...I'm sure you know that..._."

Rokian closed his eyes and pushed back the idea of running him through. The Elder approached Rokian with worry in his eyes. He looked down at the girl, noting the bruises and lingering black and blue eye.

_"I am not without concern for the well being of this girl child you have brought on this ship. There are things that must be done to insure her safety. I will speak to Lowe. He knows what must be done. But, tell me Rokian, I am curious...Is this child worth the lashings you may endure once we make it home?" _

Rokian grabbed the blanket from off the floor and covered her. Her lovely scent filled his senses and he smiled.

_"She's worth any lashing I endure."_

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	10. blush

**Hooray! I still have you guys out there...Okay, I FINALLY can explain why Aloine looks the way she does, acts..ect. There is a lot of talking, sorry, but I have to get the explainations outta the way to get to the good stuff...nudge, nudge.**

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The room they entered was much different than the others on the ship. It was very a well lit white room with one large window on the back wall. There were two surgery tables in the middle of the room with selves, drawers and several high-tech looking computers, pods and screens. It was a clean, calm place. There was another of the creatures at the other end of the room, a much larger one. It had it's back to them, hunched over something on one of the tables. It made her nervous so she scooted behind Rokian to be out of it's sight. The creature turned it's head, but it's eyes didn't leave what it was working on.

"_Sir, come look at this. I think it might actually work...oh, and did you find out what all the ruckus was about earlier?"_

Rokian Cleared his throat. The creature looked back at him.

"_Oh, I'm sorry Rokian I thought you were Doctor Lowe." _

It rose from the stool it was sitting on and walked to Rokian, smiling.

"_You're never going to guess the rumor I heard. Someone brought..."_

Before it could finish, the creature noticed Aloine poking her head out from behind Rokian. The creature took a step back in shock.

"_So it's true! Someone did bring a ooman on board...but, wait...Rokian..you...it was you?Why?!"_

Aloine stared at the creature. If she didn't know any better, she would think this larger creature...was a female...a HUGE female. Rokian rubbed his neck, feeling awkward. He let out a weak laugh.

"_Yes,I did...I can't really explain why. I just wanted her, so I took her."_

The female cocked an eye.

"_Wanted her...My, Rokian of all people I never thought of you._"

_"I've been shocking a lot of people recently."_

"_Well_...D_oes it have a name, or should I call it, it?"_

_"__**Her**__ name..is _Aloine._" _

Aloine reacted to her name. It was the first time he really said her name. She felt her face grow a little warmer than normal. He turned and flashed her a quick smile.

_"__I don't call her that, though..."_

_"Then what do you call it..uh, her?"_

_"..._Lovely_."_

_"_Lovely_? That's...kind of...dumb. Sorry. Why did you name her that?"_

Rokian and Aloine's eyes met momentarily before she looked back to the floor. She felt her cheeks grow warm again, which began to annoy Aloine.

_"It...it was the first ooman word I learned that wasn't negative. I heard a human child say it while describing flowers..."_

The female frowned. Although he had been a great and ruthless hunter, he still had what many warriors successfully or wished to banished in their life; he had a heart. It was after his first mission to Earth that he had changed so dramatically. Before he had a strong sense of duty, a taste for blood and the idea to keep their species alive...But after he came back, he changed. He told her that he had seen what the oomans had, and he wanted it...it wasn't a possession or strength...it was love. A word that is almost unknown to their kind. They cared for their mate of course, but love was never uttered. It worried her that he was trying to possess this feeling by taking a ooman female. What he was trying to accomplish, she feared, would only end in tragedy.

Rokian shifted in his stance, then changed the subject.

" Well, anyways _Jovy, I was wondering if you could make her something to wear. She did have something, but...it got destroyed..."_

_"Destroyed?"_Jovy eyed Aloine. _" I see...hey...was she in a fight?"_

_"...In a matter of speaking...yes." _

Jovy thought for a moment, then turned away and began sorting through a large drawer of discarded clothes and fabric. She brushed off her thoughts, it was the only thing she could do at the moment.

"_That's a female, you said right? You should keep her away from Spike. I've heard horror stories about him and ooman females."_

Aloine came out from behind Rokian realizing this one wouldn't attack. Rokian motioned for her to sit down on on of the surgery tables.

"_I know..."_

Jovy measured the little ooman, which was going along easy until she noticed something on the girl's chest. Jovy pushed a part of her shirt up to see the rest of the mark. Her hands trembled softly; she wasn't imagining things. It was Rokian's mark over her heart. His mark! He was engaged to this...this _**thing**_? She inhaled deeply. Rokian noticed her change in demeanor.

_"I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. I put that there to protect her from the others. She would have been murdered the second anyone found her if I hadn't."_

He left it at that. He didn't have to answer to anyone except the Master Elder on this case. Even at this point if he could turn back he wouldn't. He knew what he was doing. He wanted her. Aloine. Lovely...and no one else.

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Jovy make shifted Aloine a suit that was a parts of other suits and consisted of very dark navy blue, dark red, green and brown. It was the same skin tight, stretchy stuff her last suit was, but made much better. Jovy handed her the suit then eyed Rokian.

"_tell her to remove her clothes before putting that on...and you should turn around."_

Jovy didn't like the thought that he may had already took her to his bed, but the best thing she could do was not give him reason to do so if he did not. Rokian told Aloine what to do, then turned away from her to face the other way. It was funny to Aloine. He had seen her naked on several occasions, but only now did he avert his eyes. It was weird. She removed her clothes and quickly dressed into the suit. Why was the whole ship always cold? The suit fit great to Jovy's surprise. Even though she was the assistant of the Ship's doctor, Lowe, she was still good with a needle and thread.

"_It should due for now...but I suggest you find a seamstress when we get back..."_

Jovy's eyes reached down to the girl's feet. She couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous of the ugly little ooman. She was being taken care of by one of their races best hunters. Jovy never had any particular problem with oomans, but the fact that this ooman has stopped any member of her race to mate with Rokian, a great warrior that could breed more powerful warriors, angered her.

"_She shouldn't walk around without something covering her feet."_

The three beings turned to the door to see yet another creature. This one, unlike the others Aloine had seen, looked extremely old. His skin was wrinkled and scarred. One of his eyes were plain white and walked with a hand made cane. The old man pulled Aloine's light pink ballet shoes from a pocket in a dingy, black cloak he was wearing.

"_Here. I retrieved these from your room, Rokian. She should put them on. Humans can become sick if their feet are not covered when it is cold." _

Aloine smiled as the old 'man' handed her the ballet shoes. He watched as she laced them up, wrapped the ribbon around her leg and tied it. Dr. Lowe chuckled lightly.

"_Humans are so fascinating to me. I've been studying them for hundreds of years, yet they still manage to surprise me..."_

Lowe turned to Rokian, who bowed in show of respect.

"_You are the lad that brought her aboard? Good boy. I've never been able to bring a human on board before because of the repercussions i feared. I should have known one of the young recruits might fancy a 'fling' with a female human. However, I am surprised to see that the Elder's favorite student would be the one to do so. Either way, I am glad I may finally be able to study one up close."_

Rokian rose his head with a worried, then angry look.

_"your not going to dissect her."_, he said in a very matter-of-fact voice. Dr. Lowe laughed again. It was another fascinating fact that Rokian had become so attached to the human.

_"No, no. I'm not going to kill her, though it looks like someone has already tried. Heh. One of the elders informed me that in able for her to stay here, I must 'alter' her."_

_"...Alter her how?"_

Dr. Lowe moved slowly to his machines, then dismissed Jovy, much to her dismay. Dr. Lowe was not fond of letting his secrets in to anyone, but this was one chance in a lifetime. After Jovy left the room, he locked the doors by pressing a red button on the computer.

_" Now, I must inform you, this is highly unorthodox and I could be killed for this, but I am a creature of habit, you see. I want this child to show my hard work is not without merit. I want to see if all my studies and all my experiments bare fruit..."_

He punched a certain set of numbers that unlocked a secret, small door that just looked like a computer screen. He pulled out several different things as he continued...

_"Forgive me, Rokian if I ramble. You see, I have to alter her chemical balance, DNA, vocal cords, sight and hearing. Humans have distinct pheromones that all of us can smell. This needs to be changed so her smell would disappear. This way, no one will notice her.."_

He held up a thick, dark purple elixir in a small, think tube.

_"..This will be injected under her arms. It's scent will be mostly the same as yours, but with a tiny measure of her own...now, for her vocal cords..."_

He held up a small device about the size of a pinky nail.

_"..Since human vocal cords can only go so high or low, this will help her learn our languages. Her voice can reach the same levels as our own. This will be surgically placed against her vocal cords, which she will be able to control with practice...now as for her hearing..."_

He held up two small triangle shaped devices.

_"these will be a little more conspicuous. These will act as a second pair of ears for her. These will be placed on the sides of her head, higher than her ears, but since they are small, they should be easily covered by her hair. I have to put these on her so her own voice doesn't deaf her...now for her eye sight..."_

He picked up a thin microscope tablet. On it, was a contact.

_"..This is so her eye sight will improve dramatically..It is a contact that fits over the eye, only it is permanent...unfortunately, I was only able to make one. After all, who would think I'd actually be able to use this technology?"_

Rokian held up a hand. All of this was necessary to keep her?

_" None of this stuff is going to hurt her, will it?"_

Lowe shook his head.

_"No, no she'll be asleep through the procedure..now about her DNA. She's going to be changed ever so slightly. I think she could be more nimble and stronger, which she is going to need on our home. Now, she won't be as strong as us, but it will help...I think our DNA can slow her aging process substantially. If my calculations are correct, she should age about the same as us...but these are just numbers on paper...I won't know until I try...but... "_

Lowe stopped talking as if holding something back. Rokian lowered his head but not his sight.

_" What?"_

_" It's about her memories of being a human...I think I should slowly eliminate them. It will be better for you both if those ties are severed. What do you think? It's up to you."_

Rokian recalled the nights she cried for her father while laying on the floor. It killed him to see her unhappy. He nodded.

_" It won't hurt her, will it?"_

_"Not at all! I will be using a form of hypnosis..Anything about her past will seem but a dream..."_

_"...If we must...If it will help her."_

Rokian turned his attention to Aloine, who had long since gotten up from her position and was standing in front of the window staring out of it. Spike's words still floated in her mind. Rokian seemed so nice, it was almost impossible to think she was only brought up here to be his meat puppet. He hadn't tried to touch her in any sexual way. She closed her eyes. The past few weeks were one veritable mind-fuck after another. One minute she is walking home, the next she is attacked by some psycho with a knife, then she is sleeping on a floor, being washed and treated like an animal by an 'alien', the next she was being babied and cared for by the same creature. Still, when she thought about it, he never treated her horribly. Even when he made her sleep on the metal floor, he tried to make her comfortable. He always was kind and gentle with her. When Spike attacked her, Rokian was right there, protecting her with every ounce of his being. He even cleaned her after the horrid incident. When he touched her, it was light and delicate, as if she would shatter like glass if he used any type of force. The feeling of someone staring at her snapped her out of thought. She turned her head to see Rokain staring back at her. It was still slightly unnerving when he would just stare at her for extended amounts of time. She turned her attention quickly back to the window. Her face started to feel warm again. She caught her reflection in the window...She was blushing. She hid her cheeks with her clammy hands. Why was she blushing just because Rokian was looking at her? Why was her heart beating faster than normal? It wasn't right...not only was it not right, it was impossible. She had to be sick. She turned her attention back to Rokian, who was still talking to the ancient creature. He was a monster, a creature that kidnapped her...but...was it possible?...her thoughts began to mix together...

Rokian...I...am I...I love with you?


	11. Hunger

**Shaweet! I'm finally back into the groove of writing...yeah I'll eventually get back to Aloine and Conder, but right now, I gotta keep going with more of the Yautja and Aloine's interaction...because it's fun to write...(lol I know the lashing thing was corny, but I can't help it! I love corny things..):p**

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She shook her head trying to rid herself of those stupid thoughts. Stockholm syndrome...Not love. It was the only rational explanation. _I don't love him. I can't...It's...just wrong. _Rokian waved her to come to him as the doctor finished his long monologue of what must be done to insure Aloine's future. Rokian brushed his hand against Aloine's back as they turned to leave. The Doctor held up his finger.

"_One more thing, Rokian. No one can know about these experiments. The only other people that know about this is Elder Kni. If this experiment with the girl catches wind before I complete her, we all could be executed..."_

The door opened quietly. Aloine walked out first and Rokian thanked him as they left.

"_Don't thank me yet, child. Bring her back later, when the halls are less congested with prying eyes and ears. Oh, and also, when you take her back to your room, inject her with this..."_

The doctor handed him a small syringe with clear liquid in it. Be fore Rokian could question, the doctor answered what he was going to ask.

_"It's a tranquilizer. It's powerful, so use it when she is laying down otherwise, she will fall almost immediately and most likely hurt herself. She has to be asleep for several hours before and after the said procedure. That's a small dose, but it should due the trick."_

Rokian tucked the small pod shaped syringe under his belt , then continued to walk with Aloine. As they walked back to his room, Rokian noticed a sudden change in his lovely's demeanor. She avoided eye contact with him, her face was flushed and she tensed when he put his hand on her shoulder. What had caused her to act so different within that small amount of time? When he opened the door to his room, Aloine walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor the entire time. She cursed the fact the only place to sit was on the bed. Rokian remained in the doorway staring at her, trying to figure her out. Aloine knew he could feel her anxiousness. She hated herself for being unable to hide her emotions. If something was wrong, everyone in the room knew it. Finally, Rokian closed the door behind him and locked it. The sound of the lock sliding into place made her more nervous. Aloine tried her best to keep an interest on the floor while from the corner of her eye, Rokian moved from his position to sit next to her. Her face and ears felt hot. Rokian tilted her head to get a better look at her face. She was intentionally avoiding looking at him. Whatever was wrong with her, he was going to find out now. He startled Aloine when he suddenly lurched his hand to her chin and forcefully made her look at him. He was taken aback by how red her cheeks were. He put his other hand over her forehead. She was warmer than normal.

"Are..you sick?"

She breathed in deeply and shook her head 'no'. It befuddled him. what was wrong with her? Perhaps she was still upset about encountering Spike earlier? He lowered his hand from her forehead and with the other began to stroke her cheek. He loved touching her skin. She closed her eyes. The knot in her stomach began to rise to her throat. They were alone in a locked room...with a bed. She started to shake as if she were cold then swallowed hard to push the knot back down. Aloine tried to collect and calm her thoughts. If he wanted to do something, he would have done it already. She was unsure as to why she had listened to what that monster, Spike had suggested. Rokian didn't want to hurt her. In fact, he seemed to really like her...

At that moment, her thoughts did a complete one eighty on her. What was Rokian's true intentions? Why was he treating her this way?...was it because...

It was several minutes before Aloine realized she was leaning into Rokian's touch. She opened her eyes dreamily to see Rokian staring back at her, within very a very close proximity to her face with a happy look across his own. Aloine quickly pulled away, readjusted herself at her little corner and fixated her eyes back to the floor.

"Aloine, you dummy! Pay attention!", She thought to herself. Rokian pushed himself back on the bed, and shut off the lights. Aloine silently freaked out as she felt Rokian grab her arm and pulled her on top of him. Her face burned and her heart pounded in her ear. What now?! She sat herself up on her elbows, supported by his chest as pieces of her hair fell into her face. Rokian rubbed his large hands up and down her slender back. It made her hair rise up on the back of her neck. She softly squeaked out some words and pushed away him..

"R...Rokian?!..what...I can't...we can't...um uh.."

Rokian pushed her hair back behind her ears and pulled her back to him.

"Lovely..I..forgot the blanket..in the lab. I will keep..you warm..until we can go get it. Do..you trust me?"

He pulled the syringe from his belt against her side, then pressed the little button. She let out a soft, painful groan before lowering herself so her head was just below his chin, resting on his chest. He felt her breath against his neck slow as she started to relax.

They laid there in the dark for a while before Aloine had completely dozed off in his arms. He pulled himself up a bit to get a better view of the sleeping girl on top of him. She had her mouth partially open so each time she exhaled, she made a faint humming sound. Rokian smiled at his human. He traced her bottom lip with his index finger. Her skin was soft; untouched by blade or man. She unintentionally moved in her sleep to where she was straddling his leg. Something about her being helpless in his arms...made him feel...different.

He felt his urge for her beginning to rise once more. It would be a lie if he had said he'd never thought about taking her. A couple times when he would be washing her, he'd intentionally brush against her breasts or other privates. A female human's skin was much more fragile and soft than that of a yautja woman. His hands explored her sides and down to her ass, then back up to her breasts and arms. Her hot breath on his neck began to arouse and excite him to almost unbearable lengths. He ran his hands through her hair before slowly and carefully rolled to switch positions being careful of her limbs. He hovered over her, looking down at his Lovely. The skin tight clothing didn't leave much to the imagination..A pure primal want flushed over him while he eyed her body. It was true. He didn't want to mate. He didn't want a yautja woman. _He wanted her_. He wanted his lovely. His hands traced along her body as his heart beat hard against his chest. Rokian leaned in to her neck and inhaled. lovely had the most wonderful scent about her. When he exhaled, Aloine reacted by tilting her head, smiling. It had tickled. She opened her eyes, but was still obviously asleep. He stopped dead in his tracks as she smiled dreamily at him, then reached out to touch his cheek.

"Hi...Ro..kian."

Her arm went limp as she fell back into her dreams. He closed his eyes, then slowly rose to his feet. He was ashamed of himself. He had almost done something he would have regretted forever. His actions were no better than of Spike's. He turned away to breath deeply and calm himself. A light rapping on his door, snapped him from his conscience guilt. He unlocked the door and peered at the source of the knocking. It was Jovy holding his blanket. He noticed her eyes went directly to his bed. She frowned seeing the human girl occupying it. Rokian stepped into the hallway and shut the door. He was lightly covered in sweat.

_"What is it, Jovy?"_

Jovy shifted between feet. She was horrible at any type of confrontation, which was one reason she had become the Doctor's assistant to begin with. She had little to no personal contact with others.

_"I brought you this. You left it in the lab...Rokian, I have to talk to you about this human thing. You have so much going for you. Almost all of the elders respect you. Even the Master Elder has recognized you as a superb hunter. Why are you doing this to our clan?"_

_"With all due respect, Jovy, I don't think I have to answer to you.."_

Jovy grew angry when Rokian snatched the blanket out of her hand. He had a guilty look on his face. Jovy feared she was too late to talk her friend out of taking the human on as a lover. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

_" You...you haven't...you haven't already bedded her, have you?"_

Rokian leered at Jovy. How dare she impose such a question.

_"Is that a joke? You saw her not too long ago. Don't you think if I did, it would be obvious?"_

Rokian turned back to his door.

"Please l_eave, Jovy."_

As the door opened, Jovy let out a small chuckle. Rokian turned back to her.

_"Rokian, what do you think is going to happen when we get back? They won't accept her. You can't be with her all of the time. You turn your back to her once and one of those under dealers will snatch her up and sell her to the highest bidder as a sex slave. What your trying to get from her won't happen. Please understand this, Rokian. It won't have a happy ending."_

Jovy walked away without another word exchanged. Rokian went back to Aloine's side after shutting and locking the door. He put the blanket over her, then sat at the edge of the bed. He figured after how he acted before, he'd not touch her until it was time to take her back to the doctor.


	12. It's for your own good

**Man, after reading and editing my story, I realized my grammar sucked a while back! XD...We're finally getting closer to the end of this long story. Whee! BTW: I know nothing about drugs, I was looking up what drug makes people seem real strong and talk crazy..I thought it might be crystal meth, but I'm not sure...so I put it in...blah..oh and there is some swearing..EDIT: okay, a nice reviewer informed me that the drug is actually pcp, so thank you!**

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As they reached the police station, Conder put his hand on Aloine's shoulder. He gave her a reassuring smile, then pointed to the building.

"In here, okay? Watch your step, the stairs get slippery when they're wet."

Together, they walked up the rain covered steps and into the large building. Conder opened the front door and was greeted by a wave of noise. His fellow officers were all busy with either incoming calls, booking people or trying their damnedest to write reports. In his twenty two years on the force, he'd never seen the station so packed and busy. The cop let out an aggravated sigh. Odds were all of the interrogating rooms were already occupied. He'd have to take miss Aloine to his office. He looked down at her.

" If I lose sight of you, just say 'officer Conder' very loud, okay? I'll find ya."

With his hand still on her shoulder, he tried pushing his way through the crowd. While in the midst of comrades, offenders and citizens, he heard his name being called over the chatter. It was Davis. He pushed his way over to the two.

"Hey, there you are, Micheal. I was wondering what happened to you. Can you believe this shit?"

Davis noticed Aloine and chuckled.

"Whoa! What's with you?"

They continued to maneuver around the sea of people. He felt the girl close the gap between himself and her. She grabbed his belt and looked at the ground. She was obviously as uncomfortable as he was.

"Never mind her, What the hell's going on?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself. I can't get a straight answer from anyone. But from what I _did_ hear, there has been a huge amount of people killed within a real short period. Most of these guys in here are gang members, uh, and most killed were gang members.."

"So, what are we're looking at is an outburst of gang violence?"

They pulled out of the crowd and stopped by a cooler.

"I...don't think so. I mean, it could be...but the _way_ they were killed...I don't think these gangsters are that...'creative'."

Aloine watched as three officers pushed through the crowd with a muscle bond, sweaty, large Ooman. His head was shaved with tattoos all along his head, arms and what was visible through his 'wife beater' shirt. He had his hands behind his back, handcuffed. His eyes were beat red and was sputtering nonsense things. He was on something. The three informed Oomans forced the larger ooman sit on a bench not far from where the three were standing. The uniformed ones watched him intensively.

"What do you mean by creative?"

"Well...they were _skinned_. And some of them...were, uh, missing their heads."

Aloine's ears perked up. Skinned alive with their heads missing...that sounded like... Davis cleared his throat.

"Yeah, and what's worse, it's happened to every gang. I think we might have a vigilante on our hands."

So it _was_ Spike she saw earlier in the day; it had to be. Her kind was the only one she knew of that treated their 'prey' as such. Aloine released her grip on Conder's belt and grabbed his arm, pulling slightly.

"...Conder! Of..fic..er Conder!"

Officer Conder Turned his attention down to the girl. But before he could ask what was wrong, shouts and screams came from behind him.

"Conder! Behind you!!"

He turned to see the large gang member knocking officers around, heading in his direction. Both Davis and himself withdrew their guns, pointing it at the man.

" Be careful! He's high on PCP! Keep your distance!", one officer called out. Conder stepped in front of the girl as the man continued to thrash about, yelling random, angry things while trying to free his arms from the cuffs. His eyes then fixated on Conder.

" You fucking pigs! Fuck you!!"

He swung his elbows at Conder from a distance. Aloine poked her head out from behind Conder. This large Ooman was going to hurt the 'officer Conder' Ooman!

"Sit back down or you are going to be forced down, sir!" Conder yelled at the drug induced man. Conder was nervous. If this man managed to cause anymore of a disturbance, there was a chance the others under arrest would either make a break for it, or go after some of the distracted officers. The high man let out a high pitched scream before charging at Davis and Conder. As they cocked their guns, Aloine ran around Conder, toward the enraged man.

"No, kid DON'T!!!"

To everyone's disbelief, they watched as the girl stood firmly in front of Conder, then pulled her fist back, and punched as hard as she could into the gangster's stomach as he reached her. The entire station seemed to pause momentarily as he doubled over coughing up drops of blood. Two officers quickly emerged from the crowd to take the man to a cell before he regained his composure. Aloine stood with her hand still in a fist draped to her side. Conder and Davis looked at each other before placing their guns back into their holsters. He watched as the practically unconscious man was dragged off. Davis murmured something about 'damn crazy ass girl' as he leaned against the wall, wiping his brow and pulling a cigarette to his lips with shaky hands. Conder was utterly speechless. Aloine's mouth turned up in a soft smile toward him.

"I'm...sorry. He was..going to...hu...hurt you. Of..officer Conder..."

Conder looked back at his partner before meeting eyes with the curious girl.

_"Aloine...who..._**_what are you_**_?!"_

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It was hours before Rokian decided it would be quiet enough on the ship to move about without raising suspicion. He scooped lovely up into his arms, being careful not to pull her hair. Ooman females and Yautja females were so different from one another. In his race, the female was much larger and carried more power than that of the Ooman female. The ooman males still had a primitive idea that the female was an object and beneath them. One that did not hold as much authority or respect. He wondered how many times his lovely had been subjugated as an inferior creature. As he stared at her, he had an idea why they were treated that way. The ooman females seemed so small and feeble. Perhaps they were easy targets? Where was the challenge?

He carried her along the dimmed hallway to Doctor Lowe's infirmary. He looked about before entering. Lowe immediately rose from his seated position and greeted his guest.

_"Ah, excellent! Excellent. Come in, let me lock the doors."_

Lowe walked behind the two, locking them in. He then motioned Rokian to enter the adjoining room, which was the operating room. The doctor hit a few buttons on the wall.

_"I just need to sanitize the room. Please, Rokian. Disrobe her and place her on the table. You can cover her with this."_

He sat a heavy blue blanket on the table as Rokian removed her clothing. He couldn't help but smile a bit. The girl seemed to be naked on the ship more than on her home planet! He placed her clothes on his shoulder, then laid her softly on her back, covering her with the blanket. Doctor Lowe held up what looked similar to a breathing mask for yautja, yet much smaller.

_"I managed to make a smaller breathing mask for the human girl. This is to stabilize her breathing and keep her asleep. I don't want her bleeding to death or going into a coma before I see if my masterpieces work."_

Rokian was justifiably worried. Aloine was the first human the Doctor was working on; maybe the last. If he slipped up, even once...No. Rokian had to trust him. Lowe had studied them his entire life. He must know almost everything about oomans. He wouldn't blow it. He just couldn't.

Lowe sanitized the room, then placed the mask over lovely's face. Lowe placed a small patch over her heart. The sound of it beating immediately filled the quiet room. He pulled a tray on wheels close to the table then turned on a bright light above the table.. He picked up a small, extremely sharp instrument. The doctor turned to Rokian.

_"I'm afraid you are going to have to help me. Don't just stand there. Make sure the light is always where I'm working and hand me things as I ask for them. Since Jovy is not involved with this, you are going to have to be my assistant for now."_

Rokian felt himself grow anxious as he watched the doctor slowly cut open Aloine's throat in a very precise pattern, avoiding the air canal. Blood, guts and carnage never bothered him before, but watching someone he genuinely cared for being practically dissected before his eyes, made his stomach urk. All he could do was hope he or the doctor wouldn't slip up in any way.

After untold hours watching Lowe cut open, place in a part and sew up his lovely, they were almost finished. As Lowe went to wash his hands, he let out a breath he was holding, for what seemed like hours. It was so much more difficult to maneuver around the insides of a human than he thought. They're insides were as small and delicate as their outsides. The doctor was very surprised and relieved he hadn't nicked anything with his claws. He was certainly an amazing doctor! He heard Rokian whispering, which brought him out of his self glorifying thoughts. He turned his head to see Rokian with his hand on the girls forehead; his head was close to hers, whispering in her ear..

"Good girl. You did...great. Just..please under...stand...why we did this..."

He was impressed with Rokian's ability to speak with the human. It entertained him that even with his ability to speak with it, he and many others still called it a 'ooman', not a _hu_man. He pulled out a larger syringe filled with florescent green liquid and approached the sleeping girl.

_"Last ones."_

The Doctor raised her right arm, and injected half of the liquid just below her arm pit. Then did the same to the other arm.

_"She should stay here for the night so the machines can monitor her. Just in case. I will be back in a little while."_

Before the doctor finished his sentence, Rokian had already pulled up a chair next to her. The doctor rolled his eyes before leaving the area. _"He should not be so blatant.."_, he thought as he shut the door behind him. Rokian took one of Aloine's hands into his own. He watched as her eye lids moved slightly back and forth. She was dreaming...He smiled and brushed his finger along her cheek.

"What are...you dreaming...about, lovely?"


	13. nowhere child

**Sorry guys, I've been wanting to make the chapters longer, but the holiday season has got me running around. This chapter will be longer, I promise! This chapter starts in Aloine's dream. I was listening to the Edward scissor hands track 'farewell' and 'ice dance' when I wrote the dream sequence... Also for you vetrans, if you hadn't read the updated version of this story, I suggest you go back to the park part. The man with the dog tells Conder about something Aloine asked him..well, it's mentioned in this chapter, so you may wanna go back just so you won't be confused...thankies!...:)**

**-- -- -- --**

_Aloine opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing on the edge of a stage with a bright blue spotlight fixated on her. She cupped her hand over her eyes, squinting to see the audience. It looked like she was the only one in the theater. She turned her head to the stage. Above the stage was a banner that had a drawn girl in a red tutu and read, 'Andrei's Ballet Presents..' The stage was decorated with props for 'the nutcracker'. It was the living room scene. On one side, a grand piano sat in the corner of the stage, next to a huge, decorated Christmas tree. On the other side was an old grandfather clock and a fireplace complete with a roaring fire. On the mantle, was the famous nutcracker. The spotlight followed Aloine as she walked across the stage to the fireplace. The heat of the fire met her arms and face as she reached for the nutcracker. He was worn, dirty and the handle used to move its mouth had splintered and lost color. Her mouth cracked a weak smile as she cradled the broken toy. _

_She had always loved ballet. This year she was picked to be Clara, not a background sugar plum fairy, a rat or a __**tree**__; the lead! They always chose dancers in August and started practicing around mid September since the play was long and involved. Each year she'd try out for Clara, but every year she'd be over looked by another dancer. So she practiced all year and it eventually paid off...though now, it didn't seem to matter anymore. In fact...it felt kinda stupid. _

_She turned her head to see herself in a mirror that was placed just beyond the curtain. She was wearing the costume that Clara was to wear. It was a very elegant nightgown; Robins' egg blue with slits all around the bottom to make it easy to dance in. Her hair was up with flowers and glittered pins decorating it. She smiled and spun around the stage a couple times before stopping. She heard clapping. She looked through the light at the empty chairs to see someone there, watching her. The shadow stood, while still clapping and walked to the stage. It was an older man. He was wearing a black suit, tie and an expensive looking jacket. He had his hair combed over to the left, covering an increasing bald spot. He smiled wide at her. Aloine dropped the nutcracker and felt her cheeks grow wet as tears ran down them._

"_Daddy..."_

_-- -- _

Rokian had become concerned with Lovely. Tears had leaked from her eyes as she slept. He brushed them off her cheek with his thumb. Whatever she was dreaming about must have been upsetting her...

-- --

_Her father held out his hand for her._

"_That's my girl, Ali. Come on..Let's go home. You've practiced enough today."_

_As she leaned forward and reached for her father's hand, she heard a noise from behind her. She turned her head. It was Rokian. He was standing in the middle of the stage with one hand behind his back and the other, was extended out toward her. The spotlight moved from her, to him. He stood silently with his eyes fixated on her. She shook her head softly, then turned her head to her father only to realized he wasn't standing there anymore; He was walking to the exit. She glanced at Rokian sadly before jumping off the stage._

"_Dad, wait!"_

_As she landed on the floor, it cracked, then broke like fragile glass. She let out a scream as she fell into a black abyss.. _

_...then someone grabbed her arm, she looked up..._

_-- -- _

Aloine blinked awake, to see Rokian's face as he stood over her. She held out her arm to him absentmindedly and smiled. Her eyes were glazed over; she was obviously still half asleep. Her voice was just above a whisper..

"Rokian..you..caught me."

Rokian felt his heart skip when her finger tips touched his face. It was the first time she touched him in a loving manner. It wasn't because she was scared, she looked genuinely happy to see him; even if she was asleep.. Just as he was beginning to the moment, her eyes widened slightly. She had awoken from her dreamlike state and was now fully aware that she was touching Rokians 'cheek'. Her face turned red as she snatched her hand back . She then turned away from him on her side and covered her eyes with her hands. Despite that embarrassing moment, her mind immediately switched back to her dream. she could still see her father walking away from her.

"...dad.."

Rokian touched the side of her head. He was worried that if she moved too much, the stitching would pop. She slowly moved back to her original position and stared at Rokian with a hurt look on her face. When she tried to ask him something, she coughed instead. Her throat burned. Aloine eyed the room. She recognized the room from earlier in the day, but _why_ was she there now? It was right then she heard the faint sound of a heart beat and noticed she was wearing a breathing mask. She felt something like tape on her neck and around her head. She raised her hand to her neck and brushed what felt like gauze with her finger tips. She glared at Rokian. He could tell by the look on her face, She was confused and possibly angry. He wondered if he should tell her what was going on. Doing so could threaten the progress he had made with her. He tilted his head slightly. He would have to lie to her; just this once.

"You...were injured..inside. Doctor Lowe...helped."

She still looked confused, then pulled the breathing mask down and tried to clear her throat. She winced. The pain was equivalent of strep throat. Her voice came very soft. Every word that left her lips felt like someone stabbing her throat.

"Rokian...my throat...really hurts. Is there anything the doctor...can give me..for the pain?"

Rokian's eyes fell. She was suppose to be asleep for another several hours while she healed. He turned toward the door. The doctor more than likely went back to his chambers.

"I...don't know. I will go find him...I won't be gone long..I promise..please...keep this on...rest your voice."

He pulled the breathing mask back over her mouth and nose. He brushed her cheek with his finger before leaving the room, locking her in.

-- -- --

Conder led Aloine past the crowd quickly after that odd incident. He wondered how easy it would have been for this girl to have disabled him when he chased her tyesterday. Conder mused about what an amazing little fighter the kid could be, easily taking down a man five times her size with one punch. She definitely could kick any of those fake wrestlers ass's, no doubt. Then something wicked crept into his mind. What if it was Aloine who had been Davis's so called vigilante. It couldn't be a coincidence that she had showed up about the time these incidents had started, could it?...Plus...He looked down at her stomach in the area he thought she was injured...maybe it wasn't _her_ blood. He was a seasoned cop, but even with the 'police intuition' that he claimed to have, she completely confused him. Aloine couldn't have. She just seemed too...naive.

As they made it down the hallway toward his office, a man noticed him through one of the office's windows and rushed into the hallway.

"Conder! There's someone in your office to see you."

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know who it is and you just let them into my office?"

"I don't know. It was some kid, She said she knew you! It's been too busy here to interrogate 'er!"

Conder eyebrows rolled his eyes.

" What do you mean' some ki...'"

Conder stopped mid sentence when something came rushing up from his forgotten agenda for the day.

"Oh...shit."

Aloine quietly followed behind Conder to his office. He had inherited the office from a recently retired officer; so recent in fact, the retired cop's name was still on the door. As he opened the door, Aloine noticed a teenage girl sitting at a desk, looking through a magazine. She looked up at Conder with her eye brows knitted together.

" Jeez, dad did ya forget to do something, like at about one thirty today? Like, oh, I don't know, picking me up from school?"

Conder stood in the doorway, rubbing his neck. He had been so busy, he forgot all about his daughter, as bad as that sounded.

"I'm so sorry, Amanda I really am."

"I mean, it's bad enough you forgot, but the fact that it's raining, just makes it even better. Plus my hair got soaked and all my curls came out and my new shoes got wet and they make this gross squishing noise, plus it's freezing outside and..."

Conder raised his hands in defeat. Amanda was the queen of run on sentences. When she was upset, excited or pissed, she'd go off unending until someone stopped her.

"Amanda, Amanda. I know, I'm sorry."

Ever since him and his ex divorced, Conder only got to see his daughter ever second and twenty eighth of the month. Amanda had a tense relationship with him. Conder believed she blamed him for the divorce; him working all the time and never being home. He wasn't upset by it, he thought the same. Amanda rose from his chair, still holding the magazine.

"Well, you can make it up to me by buying my Halloween costume."

"I thought you and your mother already bought one."

Amanda handed him the magazine which was filled with questionable teenagers costumes.

" Mom bought it last year. This year it's your turn. See? I want the bumble bee one. Isn't it cute?"

Conder let out a depressed sigh. The costumes in the magazine looked so...slutty. He pined for the days of 'Power Rangers' and 'My little pony' costumes. Something that _covered_ the anatomy, not _placed_ it on a silver platter.

"These look...a little too grown up for you."

Amanda snatched the magazine out of her dad's hand and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's what everyone is going to wear this year. Me and my friends all decided to be the 'bumble bee' squad this year."

"Hallo...ween...?", a faint girl's voice floated from behind Conder. Amanda tilted her head to the side to see a weird pair of eyes staring back at her. She jumped a bit. Aloine walked through the doorway and stood next to Conder. Amanda analyzed the girl momentarily. The strange girl looked about her age.

"yeah, Halloween...um hi..are you going to dress up?...or are you already...?"

Aloine tilted her head in confusion.

"Dress up?"

" Come on, let me in the room so I can close the door...", Conder interrupted. He jestered to Aloine to sit in the chair across from his seat. He dug in his pocket and pulled out two dollars. He turned to his daughter.

" Honey, can you go to the soda machine and get a soda for yourself and her...use the machines in the smoking lounge. stay out of the main wing; it's packed and dangerous."

Amanda opened the door mumbling something about emphysema before closing the door behind her. Conder turned his attention to Aloine who was sitting straight with her knees and ankles together with her hands on top of her knees. She was just full of surprises. He sat in his chair only to realize the chair was damp from his rain soaked kid.

"I'm sorry about that. My daughter...she's a hand full sometimes."

He pulled out a yellow pad of paper from his desk and clicked a red pen. He wrote down her first name.

"What's your last name, Aloine?"

She stared at him, then tilted her head. He looked up from his paper. He pulled his chair up and crossed his fingers between each other.

"Aloine, I need to know your name to admit you to the hospital. You want to get that cut on your stomach looked at, right? Maybe get in contact with your parents? What's your last name?'

Aloine shook her head.

" I don't know...I don't...remember..."

Conder put the pen down and studied her face.

"You don't remember? Is there anything that you do remember?"

She thought for a moment, then leaned over the desk, taking the red pen in hand. She scribbled something on the paper, then filled in a part of it, then sat back in her seat. Conder looked at her, then down at the paper. She had poorly drawn a ballerina wearing a red tutu. The ballerina's left leg was behind her with her arms spread eagle. He stared at it, then back at Aloine.

" 'A thing wearing red'...what you said to the man in the park...you meant a Ballerina with a red tutu...

Aloine nodded in apparent agreement.

"So what does..."

Before Conder could further his conversation with the girl, a brunette female cop knocked while opening his door.

"Micheal, I'm sorry, but the chief told me to tell you to go to his office the second you got back."

Conder looked at Aloine, then his fellow officer.

"Can't it wait?"

"No, I'm sorry. He made it very clear that he wanted to talk to you."

With a frustrated groan, he got up from his seat, taking the yellow pad with him.

" I'll be back. Please, just stay here. If my daughter comes back, tell her I'll only be a minute, don't leave okay?"

Aloine nodded at him as he shut the door. He turned to the female cop.

" Make sure she doesn't leave, okay?"

The female cop agreed as he walked toward the chief's office like a kid being sent to the principals office.

Aloine examined the small office. It was a comfortable space. The desk and chairs were next to the door and a window that had the shades drawn. On the desk, there was a small radio and pictures of Conder's family. The people in the pictures were deceiving. They looked so happy, yet even a idiot could tell Conder and his daughter had a hard time getting along. He had another window across the door that had a view of a street and a Starbucks. She turned in her seat to see the back wall. It was a board filled with 'missing' posters. There were so many posters, the newer ones overlapped the older ones. Some of the buried ones had yellowed and only pieces of them stuck out from under the others. She turned her head to the door when she heard it open. It was the Amanda ooman. She was carrying two plastic cartons. She looked around the room.

"Where'd my dad go?"

"Micheal Conder...said he would be back...in a minute.."

Amanda scoffed.

"Yeah, that means we can be in here for up to an hour.", She plopped down on her father's seat, placing one of the containers in front of Aloine.

" Is root beer okay? It's basically all they had."

Aloine watched as she twisted the top off and took a swig of the black substance. She carefully grabbed the bottle that the Amanda ooman placed in front of her. It was chilly to the touch. Aloine stared at her. She had brown hair that was streaked with blond and pulled back into a ponytail that was tied by gold and burgundy ribbon. She had on bright pink eye shadow that glittered above her blue eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless gold and burgundy top with the word Eldorado embroidered diagonally across the chest and a matching short skirt. Her white shoes were stained with dried dirt and water. Amanda looked back at Aloine.

"What school do you go to? I go to Eldorado..well, duh. It's on my shirt. I'm a cheerleader for the football team. Is that a contact? My dad would kill me if I tried to put weird contacts in my eyes. He won't even let me get my ears pierced. How many times are your ears pierced? Dad would freak out if I got my ears pierced like yours. He freaked when he saw my blond streaks last time. He's so nineteen fiftiesish... Your hair's really different too. I mean, it looks cute. Are you, like, goth or something? Hey, what is your name?"

Aloine cocked an eyebrow.

"...Aloine."

" That's a neat name. Is that French? How do you spell it? Your tattoos are kinda cool. Did they hurt? They look like they hurt. How old are you? You look about my age. I'm 16."

Aloine stared at Amanda like a deer in headlights. This ooman certainly liked to talk! Aloine twisted the top of the bottle and smelled the contents. Amanda let out a soft laugh.

" What? It's not poison. Though, I prefer diet Dr. Pepper."

Aloine took a sip of the liquid and coughed as it went down her throat. It tasted good, but the weird bubbling feeling was weird. She took another sip before placing it back on the desk. Amanda rolled her eyes before reaching for the radio. She turned it on and moved the knob to find a radio station. She came across a loud 'song'. It sounded to Aloine like people being cut open. Why else would they need to scream like that? Amanda wrinkled her nose and continued on to the next station. She stopped at another station that had a boy singing. Amanda looked up at Aloine.

"You like My chemical romance? I kinda do. But not this song, It's too whiny."

She pushed the dial again. She stopped at a song that snapped Aloine's attention to the radio. Amanda let out sigh.

" The Beatles? Agh, I hate this song. There's nothing on the radio but crapola..."

When Amanda went to change the dial, Aloine caught her arm and lifted it from the dial. She had _heard_ the song before. Amanda pulled her arm from Aloine's grip. She rubbed her arm as she stared at Aloine, who was staring at the radio intensely. She had an alarmed look plastered on her face. Why did she know this song? Where had she heard it before? It didn't sound familiar from the Yautja...it was...from somewhere...somewhere her mind was trying so desperately to remember..

_"...just sees what he wants to see. Nowhere man can you see me at all?..."_

Amanda shook her head. The oldies were so lame to her. Why would a _goth_girl like The Beatles? As she stared at Aloine, she realized that she was looking at _two_ Aloine's. The second one...was staring at her from under the missing person's papers. She got up, not leaving eye contact from the paper as Aloine stayed locked on the radio, raising the volume to it's almost peak.

"._..Nowhere man please listen, you don't know what your missin'..._"

Amanda reached into the thick wall of papers and pulled out the almost hidden yellowed and decrepit paper. It was photocopied and in terrible shape; it had a ring around the top like it had been used as a coaster. In big black letters it read 'MISSING' on the top. In the middle was a photo...of Aloine. She was smiling with a teddy bear in her arms. Her hair was shorter and she didn't have any tattoos on her face, but it was _her_! On the bottom it had her name; Aloine Grey Banks. In faded blue pen, the words, 'she answers to Ali and sometimes Grey, please note" was scribbled by her name. It had her weight, 95 and her height, 5'3. It had her age, 15, and...the date she disappeared. September 14th...1974. Amanda looked at the picture, then back at Aloine. It wasn't possible. Aloine looked identical to the girl in the picture..but It was more than forty years ago. She stared at the back of Aloine's head as the song digressed.

"._...making all his nowhere plans for nobody..._"

It couldn't be...

"But...It is _her_..."


	14. You certainly are different

**Sorry, I'm trying my best to tie up loose ends and make everything as clear as I can...romance is getting' closer, I promise. 3**

**-- -- -- -- -- **

Aloine laid alone in the room for several minutes before locating her clothes hanging on a hook by the door. She had become quite annoyed when she noticed she was naked..._again_! Learning from the last time she tried to get off a gurney, she rose slowly, pulling off the mask then climbed down holding the side of the table. Her head hurt and spun, making her dizzy. She determined the distance of her clothes to herself; they weren't that far. She didn't want Rokian to dress her. She was almost sixteen for god's sake not to mention it was awkward. As she very slowly made it to her clothes, she realized something...She wasn't _almost_ sixteen...She _was_ sixteen. She reached for the clothing then walked back to the table for support as she changed. How could she have forgotten? But then again, with what was going on, who'd remember? She turned sixteen almost a month and a half ago; on the ship. Some birthday.

She finished dressing, then climbed back on the gurney, replacing the mask over her face. The air coming from the mask was thicker, and made her light headed. She turned to her side and closed her eyes. Aloine wondered if her father and friends thought she was dead. She wished she could contact them, let them know she was okay. She pulled the heavy blanket over her head. Where was this ship going anyways? Rokian told her once before, that the trip was very long and that they had to make stops along the way. How long was 'very long'? He never told her exactly where they were going, though the answer was fairly obvious. He was taking her to his 'home'. She curled in a little ball. If it wasn't happening to her, she would never have believed it.

She heard the door open and close. Aloine pulled the blanket down expecting to see Rokian, but instead, it was the large female she saw earlier. She remembered Rokian calling her, 'Jovy'. She had her arms across her chest and was glaring down at her. Aloine sat up unsure as to what to expect. Jovy cocked her head to the side.

"_I see the doctor's been busy."_

She began to slowly walk around the table, eying Aloine with a look of disgust upon her face.

"_I've had some time to think, little ooman and I believe this has gone too far. You are mockery of everything our race stands for. It truly sickens me to think he would rather have you than any of his own kind. I suppose it's natural for Rokian to have urges, which is fine while on this ship, but when we reach home, he's going to have a very rude awakening."_

Aloine just watched as Jovy talked. Her words were nothing more than the unknown to Aloine. The only word she understood was 'Rokian'. Still, by Jovy's stance and tone it sounded almost like she was being scolded for something.Jovy stopped in front of Aloine, then slammed her hands down flat on the table at Aloine's feet. Aloine pulled her feet up and away from the angered female.

_"I've known Rokian since we were children! I hold more memories with him; I've known him longer! Why? Why would he chose you? Why not me? What the hell is so special about you?!"_

Aloine's eyes widened as she doubled back to the opposite edge of the table. What caused Jovy to freak out? She began to breath harder, which in turned caused her to breath in more of the thick mask air. It was making her too dizzy, so she pulled the mask off. Worried what Jovy might do next, Aloine tried to back up a little further toward the edge of the table. As she pulled back, her hand slipped behind her and she toppled backwards onto her stomach.

Jovy froze with her fists still on the table. She didn't realize she had scared the girl that badly. She leaned over the table at the fallen ooman. Aloine had moved into a fetal position and wasn't moving. She raised her hands from the table and moved to get a better look at the girl. From where Jovy stood, she couldn't tell if the ooman was breathing or not. She looked around the room frantically. She had destroyed a comrades property. The little ooman was dead! She backed out of the operating room, then quickly left the lab. The farther away the better.

-- -- --

Rokian knew something was wrong the second he and the doctor entered the room. The door to the operating room was open. He rushed to the door. His eyes went directly to the table, then turned his head when he saw something move in the side corner. Lovely was curled in the corner with her back to him. He leaned next to her and touched her shoulder. She let out a tearful whimper. When she turned, Rokian saw her eyes light up realizing it was him. She reached her arms out and wrapped them around his neck. She was so happy to see him.

"Rokian...my stomach hurts."

Rokian delicately picked up and placed her on the table,. Lowe was tracing something on the table with his finger. The edge of the table was bent at an angle

_"Jovy.."_. He thought. Rokian placed the mask back over Lovely's face and covered her with a blanket. The doctor cleared his throat and removed a syringe from a drawer filled with clear liquid. Rokian stared at Lovely as she stared back at him.

_"What could have happened while I was gone? Will she never be safe unless I'm with her?"_

The doctor moved to Lovely, touching her chin, tilted it up softly and injected her with the clear liquid.

_"There you go, good girl. This should kill the pain for a while and put her back to sleep.."_

Lowe then turned back to Rokian.

_"I think we need to start erasing her mind sooner than scheduled. She can't act so frightened and timid all of the time. She has to believe she belongs with us or she'll be killed in the first week. We have another two stops before home. That gives me about three months to complete her...though a humans mind is so simple, it shouldn't take that long."_

Rokian shook his head.

_"Forgive me sir but, you can't speak ooman dialect. How are you suppose to..."_

The doctor raised his hand.

_"Can't I? I am a creature of many talents, Young Rokian."_

He leaned over Aloine and nodded to her.

"Now Miss Lovely, you must relax and go to sleep. Rokian is a good boy. He will watch over you until you feel better."

Aloine's sleepy eyes widened momentarily surprised by the sudden change in the old one's language, then turned her attention back to Rokian. She smiled a sweet half-asleep smile.

"Good boy..."

Rokian was very impressed. Lowe stood in a triumphant pose.

_" I told you, boy. I've been studying humans longer than you have been alive. They have an amazing amount of different dialects. They are quite fascinating yet simple creatures. It won't be hard to remove those memories. I'll use hypnosis and have her tell me everything she remembers about her life , then I'll persuade her unconsciousness to change them so that she only remembers her time with you and our kind."_

Rokian watched as lovely's eyes slowly closed. He smiled then turned his head up to the doctor.

_"When you do that, will it change her personality?"_

Lowe shrugged.

_"It shouldn't. They are just memories after all."_

_"Well may I ask you a favor?"_

_"...yes?"_

_"When she tells you about dancing...can you keep that memory, just alter it?"_

Lowe stared down at the sleeping human.

_"I suppose I can try, though I'm not promising anything. Why is her dancing so important?"_

_"It's what attracted me to her in the first place. My favorite memory of her."_

_-- -- -- -- _

Amanda walked backwards with the paper outstretched in front of her until she came to Aloine's front. She looked at the picture, then at Aloine, then Aloine then the picture. She looked down at the paper for more clues. At the very bottom of the paper it read ' Last seen in front of 'Andrei's Ballet' walking in the vicinity of Madison park. For any information please conta..." The last part had been ripped off, probably from age. Aloine continued to stare at the radio as it moved on to another song. Something in the back of her head had an attachment with that song. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples repeating the lyrics she remembered...Something started to form..

_A man? He was smiling at her. Who was...he? That song was playing in the background. He looked happy. _

_"...ome on...ance...th me,...goo...irl..."_

Amanda studied the paper closely. A ballet class?

"...Andrei's ballet?"

Aloine's head snapped up and stared at Amanda, which freaked her out a bit. The _goth_girl had a upset look on her face. Amanda looked toward the door, then back at Aloine. She pointed at the door with her thumb.

"I'll...be right back...I'm gonna go find dad...okay...um don't leave."

She opened the door gave the girl one last look before closing the door behind her. Aloine put her head in her hands. Why...why were all these things suddenly coming into her head. Who was the ooman in her head? She thought deeper while staring at her feet. A male's voice crept into her head again.

_"Good job, honey...oh, I love this song...here...come dance with me..."_

-- -- -- --

Conder knocked on the door before entering the smoke filled room. The chief was bent over his desk signing one of many reports on his desk. He glanced up.

"Hey Micheal, close the door will ya."

Conder closed the door and sat across from the overworked man. William Radwick had been chief for twelve long years. He had seen it all. The chief wasn't that much older than Conder, but the combination of the job, cigarettes and alcohol had aged him considerably. The chief cracked his knuckles then leaned back in his seat.

"Did you ever find the kid that broke into the evidence locker?"

"It wasn't the evidence locker she broke into it was..."

"Ah, So you found her? Have you booked her yet? If so give me the paper work so I can sign it. There's been so much paperwork shoved up my ass, I'm surprised I haven't coughed up a fucking tree."

Conder rubbed the back of his neck in a feeble attempt to relax his neck muscles.

"It's not that easy, Radwick. See...I think she was a victim..."

"A victim of what?"

"I...don't know...but...she seems to remember something about a bal..."

"God dammit, Conder! We don't have time for you to go on a damn fishing expedition! Just book her and get onto one of the other cases. I want this place cleared out before those FBI assholes get here. I guess their sending some 'special team'..."

Conder felt himself tense. Radwick stood and poured himself a glass of whiskey. It was the only way to calm his nerves anymore.

"...to deal with this vigilante asshole. Apparently the same thing happened in Los Angeles back in ninety two. I say good riddance. I hope they find the guy and fry 'em."

Conder let out a deep sigh. Radwick had always been a 'hang 'em high' man. He only saw people in two ways. Either you're a criminal, a cop or a victim. He failed to see the gray line within his black and white world. Conder decided to press for details. If Aloine was involved, he didn't want to lose her to the FBI until he got some answers from her.

"When is the FBI getting here? Do they have any suspects?"

The chief took a swig of the whiskey, letting it slosh in his mouth before swallowing it.

"First thing in the morning, and not a moment too soon. I don't know about suspects yet. When I told them about that heavy armor junk we found at the city library, the guy over the phone nearly shit himself.."

The sound of rapid tapping on the chiefs door brought both men to attention. The chief pulled out a cigarette out of his pocket, then stuck it between his lips.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Amanda's head slowly popped inbetween the door crack. Conder was slightly annoyed at the fact Amanda hadn't stayed in his office. He wasn't gone_ that_ long. Radwick lit his cigarette then cracked a smile.

"Amanda! My, you've gotten big, the last time I saw you, you were still wearing diapers. Hows your mother?"

Amanda smiled politely at the chief as exhaled gray smoke.

"She's doing okay. Dad, I need to talk to you, I need to show you something!"

Conder attempted to shoo his daughter out of the room.

"It can wait. Let me finish talking to Mr. Radwick.."

"but dad, it's really important!"

Radwick flicked his hands at the two.

"It's fine, go! Just hurry and finish up what I told you to do by tonight."

Conder thanked the chief as he closed the door. He turned to his daughter with knitted eyebrows.

" You know, that's my boss in there. You can't just wander the station whenever you..."

"I _KNOW_ dad, you can bitch at me later, but _look_!!"

She held the old paper in his face. It took Conder a second before realizing what it was he was looking at. He took the paper from his daughters hand. She stared at it before exchanging looks with Amanda.

"I told you it was important..."

Conder shook his head.

"But, how is that possible?"

-- -- --

Aloine's head began to hurt by an image she was unaware even existed. Who was the male ooman that she began to see in her head. She hated it. The image upset her; made her sad. She hit her temples with her fists, trying to force the voice and image out of her head.

_"go away, leave me alone!"_, she cried in her 'native' tongue. Her head darted to the door when she heard it open. It was the Amanda ooman. She had what appeared to be food wrapped in a clear, thin plastic. She held up her hand and nervously waved her hand.

"H..hi. Um...I brought you a sandwich. My dad went to evidence to grab something. He'll be back in a minute. Are you hungry?"

Amanda unwrapped the sandwich and inched toward Aloine to hand her half. Aloine smelled it, then pealed the two bread halves to look at the contents. It had a green vegetable, some kind of meat and a thin spread of yellow liquid. She glanced at Amanda ooman. She had already took a couple of bites of the sandwich. Aloine cautiously took a bite of the sandwich, then another. It was good. She didn't notice how hungry she was until that first bite. Amanda watched as Aloine gobbled the sandwich up. Her curiosity got the best of her.

"H..hey, Aloine? Where have you been all this time? I mean, did you find, like, some fountain of youth or something?"

Aloine wiped her mouth and raised her eyebrows. The Amanda ooman was so...odd.

"Fountain...of...youth?"

Amanda nodded.

"Yeah, I mean...You look really young..Where have you been living the last forty years?"

Aloine tilted her head, then pointed up. Amanda's eyes followed her point to the ceiling then back down to the girl.

"Ceiling fan?...wait...you mean?"

Amanda held up her finger and pointed like Aloine.

" You...you don't mean? You mean..._ up there?_ Nah, your joking. You couldn't have."

Amanda looked over the girl's appearance; her tattoos, her piercing, her eyes...everything about her was just kinda...off. Aloine had a straight look on her face.

"You...you _are_ joking...right?"

-- -- --

Conder was exasperated. One reason was because the person working in the evidence locker was a dumb rookie who knew nothing of the area , and the second, when they finally did find the papers for the evidence he was seeking; the box had been checked out...twenty years prier. The name on the sign out sheet was Detective Richard Wake; The recently retired officer Conder received his office from. Conder rubbed his eyes with his palms. As he walked toward the door in defeat, the rookie stopped him.

"uh, sir? It has his address on the sign out sheet. You can take it, if it helps. I doubt this case is ever gonna get solved anyways."

Conder snatched the paper from his hand and walked back to the main hall, complaining the entire way. What was the odds the old man still had the box? Or even had the same address? In his age, he may have thrown it out thinking it was trash. He hoped he was still compedant enough to know not to destroy something so irreplaceable. He looked at the yellowed missing person's picture. If it really was her, then he wanted someone he could trust to look at her. He'd have to call in a favor. He walked through his office door to be met with an excited Amanda.

"Dad, this is so cool! A girl whose been missing for forty years..."

" thirty three years, Amanda..."

"Whatever, a girl whose been missing for that long and shows up almost the same age as she left. It's so bizarro!"

Conder rubbed his the corner of his eye.

" Amanda, get your coat. I have to take her to the hospital."

-- -- --

The hospital was a nice change from the extremely busy police station. He had to slip out the back to avoid anyone seeing him leave with a suspect without handcuffs on. He felt horrible. He'd forgotten she was injured. He had called ahead to make sure his good friend Shirley Mott was there. She was a brilliant pediatrician. She had helped deliver Amanda.

"Micheal, Amanda! Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Shirley hugged her long time friend. She turned her attention to Amanda, giving her an equally loving hug. Conder put his hand on Aloine's shoulder.

"Shirley. Her stomach is injured. I was wondering if you could patch her up."

Shirley smiled. She was a jolly woman with reddish brown curly hair, and small glasses that framed her chubby and charming face. Aloine couldn't help but smile at Shirley. She seemed like a nice ooman. She had a very positive glow about her.

"Well of course I can. Oh, don't you have an original style! Your stomachs hurt? Did you fall off your bike, hon?"

Conder chuckled.

"Not exactly. Um, Shirl. Radwick doesn't know I'm down here with her so..."

Shirley waved her hand in front of her face.

"Oh, not a problem, hon. C'mon, dear. Let's have a look at your tummy, okay? In this room okay?"

As Shirley led Aloine to a room, Conder caught her by the shoulder.

" Can you take some blood? I need a blood sample from her and...maybe you should examine her."

Shirley cocked an eyebrow.

"Hon, is there something you should be telling me?"

"No, it's just...there's something wrong with her, I can tell...maybe if you..."

"Okay, okay I get it. It shouldn't take too long."

Aloine looked back at Conder as Shirley took her by the hand, leading her into the examination room. He smiled back at her.

"Don't worry, Aloine. She's a good person. Just do what she says, okay?"

Aloine nodded as Shirley closed the door.

-- -- -- --

It was taking far longer than Conder had expected. He was going to hear it from Radwick. He looked over at his daughter. Amanda had dozed off while reading some teen bop magazine. He stood and stretched, then walked to the candy machine at the opposite end of the deserted waiting room. He fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a dollar. As he inserted it into the machine, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. It was Amanda. She looked upset.

" I like her dad. Is she going to be sent away?"

Conder was surprised by his kid's admission. Teens her age didn't like _anything_.

"No, why do you ask?"

"If someone comes to take her away, will you help her?"

The candy bar he chose hit the bottom tray.

"well, I'll certainly try. Why??"

Conder pulled the candy bar out of the machine and unwrapped it.

"Well...she told me that some guy was trying to get her...or at least she thinks he was.."

He leaned on the machine, scratching his forehead.

"When did she tell you this?"

"When you went down to the evidence locker.."

He handed Amanda the candy bar, then turned his attention to the muted TV.

"She talked to you? Did she say anything else?"

Amanda took a bite of the candy, then spit it out in her hand and handed it back to Conder.

"yuck, coconut...well, no. She told me where she's bee..."

Shirley walked into the waiting room and beckoned Conder with her index finger.

"Conder, I need to talk to you."

Conder patted his daughter on the back, told her he'd be right back, then followed Shirley a down the hall until they were out of Amanda's hearing range. She looked around, then got closer to Conder.

"Who is this little girl? Where did you find her?"

" Her name's Aloine. Other than that, I don't know. I found her in the park..."

Shirley flipped through the pages of her charts. For the first time in the eighteen years he'd known her, this was the first time she looked stumped.

"Well, she certainly is...different. I drew her blood. She came back an A type blood. But, it's weird. That's the only way I can put it. It's weird."

"Weird, how?"

"Um...let me see, uh, she has other blood cells in her blood. It doesn't effect her blood type, but I don't understand...there not suppose to be there. The blood cells are not human or animal. I don't know what they are except... a _form_ of blood cells...Plus, I...I think she's been experimented on. Her yellow eye _isn't_ a contact, and those things on her head are somehow attached internally to her ears. There is something attached to her throat, but I can't tell what it is from the x ray..The tattoos on her face look like they were _burned_ on, not created by a needle...Her whole body is just a mystery. Some of these things attached to her...she would have _bled_ to death during the placement. I've never seen this before in all my years of being a doctor."

Conder put his hand over his mouth and sighed into it. Well, he had a blood type to go on. These other revelations, even though they should have floored him, he was almost expecting them. Aloine was not someone you see on the street. He'd have to head out to see if the old man still lived at the twenty year old address. Shirley shifted from foot to foot. She flipped through her charts to the last page. She obviously wasn't finished with her diagnosis.

"What is it? Did you find anything else."

Shirley's normal warm and cheery disposition had saddened.

"Actually, it's what I didn't find."

Conder gulped, wondering what _else _could be wrong with the kid.

"What didn't you find?"

"It may be possible she's been sexually assaulted. She's missing her hymen."


	15. My false past

Rokian awoke within the early hours; the time when most on the ship were sleeping or changing shifts. He stared up at the ceiling, vastly enjoying the warmth coming from the girl laying on top of him. Her head was resting on his chest and her arms dangling on either side of him. He silently moved his large hand to her head and ran his finger through her hair. He brought a lock to his nose and inhaled her scent. It had changed slightly; she now had her own and his scent in her; just as the doctor said. Rokian twirled the lock of hair around his finger. It had been several weeks since the doctor started 'reprogramming' Lovely and Rokian was impressed. Her demeanor had changed drastically. Within the second week, she started to hold her head up when she walked, she wouldn't hesitate to touch him and even smiled at him, without any trace of fear. He released the lock from his finger and wrapped his massive arms around her. He recalled all of the memories Lovely had told him and the doctor. She talked of her youth and her friends; her first scar on her knee, her father...and her mother; how she died when Lovely was small.

"I remember she would cough a lot. She coughed up blood while we were watching television once...", she told the doctor. Rokian felt overwhelming pity for her. She had a very troubling life. Her father was always working. They lived in a tiny 'apaatmant', she called it, in a bad area of the ooman city.. Rokian knew the area well; he caught many of his hunting trophies in the area. She said although it was small, she was happy living with her father. She wanted to make him proud. It was the one thing she wanted more than anything. He rubbed her back as he thought. She also said her 'balleyee' master was very unkind to her. He told her to deny herself nourishment to drop weight. She didn't eat and always became ill because of it. It explained her small and feeble stature. Rokian clamped his mandibles over his mouth and growled at the thought of any pathetic ooman hurting his girl. Lovely suddenly lifted her head in a semi slumber state. She checked around the room, then stared at him, smiling. After a moment, she dropped her head back on his chest. Rokian chuckled softly. He loved her smile. As odd looking as the humans anatomy was, hers was surprisingly attractive. She sighed into his chest, causing him to shiver at her hot breath.

Rokian put one arm around his Lovely and with the other, pulled himself up on his elbow. He then rolled to his side to lay her on the bed momentarily, readjusted himself, then scooped her into his arms. It was always the early hours when he took her to the doctor. It helped avoid unnecessary chatter and questions from his comrades. Lovely slept soundly in his arms. She was normally asleep when he took her to the doctor. Lowe gave Rokian a syringe of a thick, clear liquid. The doctor said it would help her sleep and stay incoherent for a short time after waking; perfect for manipulation.

Rokian entered the doctor's office. Lowe wasn't there. He looked around before moving into the operating room and carefully placed Lovely on the gurney. The doctor was quite excited yesterday. They had wiped clean almost her entire memory and replaced it with a new one; they even erased the incident with Spike...for the most part. The doctor had suggested to keep the attack there, but erase any form of the attempted sexual assault. The only part left was how he and Lovely met. He spent the last three days thinking of a good memory; one better than the horrid truth. He pulled a stool up to the gurney and admired his sleeping girl. He glanced behind him toward the door, then leaned over Lovely. He clicked affectionately as his finger traced her cheek and lips. It would only be another two weeks or so before they finally reached home; he could take her to his living quarters, away from prying eyes. He leaned in closer to Lovely. The sound of her breathing was soft and rhythmic. Rokian stared intensely at her mouth. He had seen humans touching their lips as a form of love and affection. _'kissing'_. He sadly closed his mandibles over his mouth. How could he touch her like that, without the chance of cutting her with the tips of his mandibles. Lovely inhaled sharply and parted her lips to let out a low yawn. Her eyes flickered opened for a moment before closing. Rokian stayed in his position, hovering over her. He took a second glance around the room, then brushed a few hair out of Lovely's face that had fallen when she moved. He felt his entire body's temperature rise as he stared down at her. That unmistakable urge he always felt seemed to grow more and more aggressive in his head.

"Lovely..."

He placed one hand on her cheek and lowered his head. With his mandibles still closed, he very delicately touched them against her soft lips.

_"You shouldn't be so blatant, you know."_

The sudden voice caused Rokian to jerk his head up and face the source. It was Doctor Lowe. He was standing in the doorway with two syringes in hand. Rokian turned away from him and stood.

_"I..I wasn't.."_

The doctor raised one hand at Rokian, then flicked one of the syringes.

_"Now, now. You have no reason to explain your actions to me. She is your property to do what you will. I do, however, think you shouldn't be touching or showing so much affection toward her until after we're home. Keep in mind that even though you have claimed her with the mating mark, the masters can still overturn it. _

Rokian shook his head, annoyed.

_" Is everyone so convinced on this vessel that I have brought her with me as a sex slave? She is just my trophy of a hunt."_

Lowe dismissed Rokian's defense as he removed one of the safety stops from a syringe. Rokian glanced at him as he injected the white liquid into Lovely.

_"You haven't told me what it is your injecting her with."_

The doctor smiled as he emptied the other syringe into her body.

_"The white liquid is a wonderful little drug I learned about some odd years ago while studying humans. It's called,_ Kallocain."

_"What does it do?"_

_"It's a 'truth drug', if you will. It makes the receiver of the serum force to reveal information that they normally would not say. Wonderful little creation the humans made. The clear liquid is a nice little concoction of mine. It helps manipulate the receiver to think or believe what it is told. It is much more advanced than the primitive hypnosis used by humans. It keeps the patient awake in a sense, but still very much asleep. This border between lucid and incoherent makes the persuasion of a false reality go along more smoothly. It's brilliant if I do say so myself."_

The doctor discarded the syringes, then leaned over Lovely.

"Miss Aloine? It's time for you to wake up, okay?"

Lovely eyes slowly opened. She glanced at Lowe, then to Rokian. She gave him a sleepy smile.

"hi...Rokian."

Rokian rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand as the doctor cleared his throat. Lovely looked back to the doctor.

"Good morning, Miss Lovely. Now, I was wondering something. Can you tell me about your past again?"

Lovely smiled.

"You don't remember? I told you just...yesterday...My parents...were killed long ago; I was too small to remember them...I lived on my own for such a long time...I don't remember much, except I was alone...and..sad. I liked to dance when I was alone. It was the only thing that made me feel better."

The doctor smiled. She was remembering what he had told her to remember a while back. The false memories were holding. Now it was time to turn to the last of the memories.

"Lovely, how did you meet Rokian?"

Lovely thought for a moment.

"I..was walking home..from somewhere...when I attacked by a...man. He had a..weapon..and.."

The doctor went to say something, but Rokian cut him off. He took her hands into his.

"No, Lovely. Don't you remember? You were dancing in...the woods of an isolated planet. I was on a mission there and...I found you. I was...watching you, when you noticed me. You smiled at me, and beckoned me to come to you.. but before I could, a creature tried to attack you. I saved you, but you...were injured. So I took you...to my ship and nursed you...back to health. After you...were fully healed, you decided to...stay with me..."

The doctor folded his arms across his chest, slightly irritated by Rokian's attempt to bogart the girl . Although annoyed, he was still very impressed by his own brillance. The girl was a scientific wonder; his amazing creation! Still, even with all his hard work, he could not mention it to anyone without the chance he would be killed. What a waste; the girl would be used as nothing more than a play thing. Regardless of what Rokian said, he knew better. He shook his head and left the operating room to ready some of his things for when it was time to awake her.

Rokian watched Lowe leave and squeezed Lovelys' hand softly. There was more thought he wanted to add to their 'story'...one he couldn't resist

"...and after we were...together for..such a long..time...I asked you..."

The words slipped out in a quiet whisper.

"...I asked you...to be my mate."

Even in her half awake state, Lovely's cheeks turned bright red. He was staring at her with such intensity, it made her whole body hot.

"Rokian? Yo...your mate?"

The doctor reentered the room with yet another syringe.

_"It's time to wake her up. I think we removed all the memories of her human past. I suggest you jettison her belongings you have hidden in your room. If she sees them, they might trigger an unwanted memory."_

Rokian agreed and stood as the doctor injected her with his 'wake up' serum. Rokian often worried if having all these different liquids being injected into her was internally damaging her. His train of thought was broken by the touch of Lovely's hand on his. She was looking up at him in a more lucid state.

"Rokian...what did I say?"

"...What did ...you say?"

Lovely's cheeks were still beet red. She looked at the ceiling, then the floor.

"When you asked me to be your...mate. What did I say?"

Rokian glanced at the doctor as he left, shaking his head. Rokian leaned down next to her.

"Well...You...haven't given...me an answer.."

Lovely looked at him, then back at the ceiling.

"...oh."

Lovely checked around the area, making sure they were the only two in the room then she turned onto her side and leaned in to whisper to him.

"If I haven't...answered you...why am I sleeping in the same bed as you?"

She looked away from him, embarrassed to ask her next question. She wrapped a strand on her hair around her finger and pulled lightly.

"Rokian...are we...um...have we..uh...had sex?"

Rokian's eyes widened then darted his head back to the door, then back to her. Lovely was moving her eyes along the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with him. For a moment, Rokian had a dark thought. He could tell her that they had, which would it make her more susceptible to his want. If she asked for proof, all he'd have to do was show her his mark on her body...it would be so easy. He rubbed her arm.

"...No...we haven't."

"But...we would we...if I accept your proposal...?"

It was obvious by the way she was talking and the flushed tone of her voice, that she was now fully awake. Rokian let out a deep sigh. He took her chin into his large hand and pulled her gaze from the floor to his eyes. It would have been a horrible lie to say Rokian didn't want Lovely in every way a male could want a female, but at the same time, he wanted her to come to him. It would be far more satisfying. His grasp left her chin and glided along her cheek, down to her neck until it came to rest behind her neck. He pulled her closer to him. She stared back at him with an unknown thought behind her eyes.

"...Lovely, I want to..."

The sound of a small metal object hitting the floor metal drawed both of their attention to the door way. It was Jovi; she was carrying a small, metal medical plate. Rokian left his position and stood to face Jovi.

_"Hello, Jovi."_

Jovi stared blankly at Lovely. She had assumed the ooman had died weeks before. The doctor didn't say anything and she hadn't seen it after their little run in. When she saw Rokian in the halls, he seemed more quiet and reserved. Was he just spending all his time with that thing? It sickened her. She felt better thinking the ooman was dead. Rokian was confused by Jovy's odd actions. She acted like she'd never seen the ooman girl before.

_"Oh, h..hello, Rokian..."_

Jovy retrieved the plate from the floor and made her way to the other end of room. Rokian noticed Lovely had moved from her place on the table to stand behind him. Jovi grabbed some things from the drawers, then briskly left the room. She had overheard the last part of their conversation. She was relieved he had not slept with the creature. Jovi organized the things she took from the operating table on the metal plate for the doctor's future use. She had to think of a plan quickly to get Rokian away from the ooman. But the only other comrade she knew that hated the ooman as much as she did...was Spike...After the incident in the hallway, one of the elders had banned him from the 3rd floor.

Rokian appeared in the doorway of the room, with the ooman trailing behind him. Jovi scoffed quietly as they both walked by. Lovely walked ahead of him as he stopped behind Jovi.

_"goodbye, Jovi..."_

Lovely walked out the door leading to the main hallway, leaving Jovi and Rokian alone momentarily. He walked to the door and stopped at the doorway.

_"Jovy, I know why _Lovely_ is scared of you. If you make any other attempt to hurt her...I'll kill you."_

Jovy stared down at the metal plate as he left. He was definitely going too far with the matter of the ooman. She was running out of time. If she couldn't get him to change his mind about the creature, then she'd have to make up his mind for him. It was for his own good...

---------------------- --------------------------------------- ------------------------------------

Rokian caught up with Lovely as she made it to their room. She stood in front of the door waiting for him. He smiled as took her hand, leading her passed the room. Lovely looked behind her, then up at Rokian confused.

"Rokian? Where are we going?"

He glanced down at her. She was looking at their intersecting hands. He felt her squeeze his hand.

"It occurred...to me when we were talking...about our meeting...that I haven't...seen you dance in such a long time. "

Lovely smiled and ran several steps before him. She twirled on one foot and leaned forward with her hands behind her back, giving Rokian a big smile.

"You're the only person I'll dance for."

They walked up a flight of stairs and into a large, Empty room. It was dimly lit, like the other parts of the ship, only there were two large windows overlooking the starry galaxy, lighting up the room slightly. The middle of the floor had symbols and marking painted in red. Against the wall, was one, long seat much like one a team member would sit at during a game. Lovely walked to the middle of the room and spun on her heal to meet Rokian's gaze.

"Where are we?"

The door slid shut behind him as he made his was to the 'bleacher'.

"This room is..usually for younger..comrades to train. The majority of..comrades here are second or third year hunters...so this room...is basically...abandoned.."

Rokian sat on the bleacher and motioned for her to dance. Lovely stood with her legs together and her hands behind her back. Her cheeks were still flushed. Rokian tilted her head in bewilderment.

"Is..something wrong?"

Lovely looked at the floor.

"No...it's just...I'm not use to...it feels,well, like I'm dancing in front of a lot of comrades..you know.."

Rokian clicked softly.

"No, Lovely...like you said...just me."

Lovely smiled nervously, then took a deep breath before bringing her hands out before her. Rokian watched her as she began to spin, raise her hands up, Balance on her toes and kick. It was amazing to see the girl move the way she did. She was very...flexible. He had never seen a ooman move their limbs to their limits without visible pain. It was amazing; she was amazing.

Lovely smiled to herself as she danced. She loved to dance and dancing for Rokian was even better. He was always so wonderful to her. She caught a glimpse of him as she spun. His eyes were fixated on; it made her blush once again and almost made her lose her balance. She stopped spinning and pulled her leg behind her and leaned forward. Why was it that whenever Rokian looked at her, her chest would feel restricted. He made her feel so happy. She performed one last spin before quitting. Lovely turned and bowed as she finished her performance. She dropped to her knees in front of him and rested on her legs. She huffed a bit, out of breath by the extensive exercise. Rokian smiled down at her.

"Did...you like my dance? Sorry, I think it's been a little while..", she huffed out as she rested her head on his thigh. Rokian sat up straight and felt his pulse quicken as she rested one of her hands on his other thigh. She was quite in a questionable position and area, but was to naïve to realize it.

"Not...at all. It was beautiful..." Rokian managed to say under the growing tension. Much to his relief, Lovely pulled herself up off of him and walked to the window at the other end of the room. While she had he back to him, he readjusted himself;trying to regain his composure. She scratched the back of her ear, turned her head toward him, then back out to the window. It looked as though she was about to say something, but didn't. Rokian tilted his head and clicked.

"Is...there something..wrong?"

She raised her shoulders and turned to face him. She had her palms against her cheeks, trying to cool herself down. Her whole face was red.

"Rokian...about eariler..."

Rokian stood and approached her.

"Do you mean my proposal? If you...decline..I..understand.."

Lovely held up her hands and shook her head.

" No...it's not that..I mean it is about that...it's just..."

She gazed into his eyes and smiled.

"I..wanted to ac..accept..."

Rokian stood for several seconds just staring back at Lovely before it occurred to him what she said. He scooped her into his arms. A huge weight was lifted from him; she cared for him. This proved it.

"You..do? Lovely...is this what...you want?"

Lovely wrapped her arms around his neck. Her face felt white hot. She was sure, as of right that very second, what her heart wanted.

"Yes...Rokian, you have always been so nice and good to me. I want to be your mate...I want repay you.."

Rokian's smile faded. He sat her down and pulled away from her.

"..repay me?"

"yes..I..."

When Lovely reached for him, he caught her wrist.

"Lovely, Are you only accepting because you feel obliged?"

"It's not that, I wanted to say..."

She felt warm tears build up behind her eyes.

"Don't feel obligated because I saved you. That isn't what I want.."

"B..but I want to..."

Rokian walked away from Lovely and trailed down the stairs, leaving her alone. He was confused. Didn't the memory manipulation work? He was so sure she would want him, not feel she _had_ to be his mate. The painful look on Rokian's face made Lovelys chest hurt.

As the door shut behind him, Lovely stood alone in the room staring at the door. What had just happened? He had been so hasty in over thinking what she said, he didn't get to hear what she wanted to say.

"I...want to be your mate, Rokian...because...because..."

She fell to her knees and stared out at the night sky. The tears that threatened her eyes before now freely poured down her cheeks.

"...I'm in love with you."

- ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- ------------------------

Rokian was pissed. He had tracked Lovely to a roof top where he found her mask wedged between a concrete slab and moldy boxes, yet no Lovely. What if Spike had already gotten to her? He removed his mask momentarily to lift her mask to his nose and inhale the lingering scent surrounding it. She had been there not that long ago; a day or two tops. She could still be alive. Suddenly his nose wrinkled. There was another smell on the mask. It was Ooman. The oomans had gotten to her. He pulled the mask away from his nose and hooked it onto one of his weapons belt. He lowered his mask . The rain hit against it, making a soft 'plink' noise with each drop as he glanced over the side of the building. He reached up to his chest and trailed his finger along a character burned on his chest. The same symbol that marked Lovely as his.

_"Lovely, We've come too far for me to lose you now. Where are you?"_

He clicked on a few buttons on his gauntlet before disappearing.

------------------------ ------------------- --------------------------- ---------------

Amanda was sitting in a bathroom stall,crying. She dug her head into her hands. She had overheard the conversation her father had with Shirley. Amanda had awoken shortly after her father left the room with the doc. She perched herself at the very edge of the waiting room. She had heard almost everything Shirley said. Aloine had been experimented on, possibly tortured...and even raped. She reached for some toilet paper and blew her nose. She felt like such a bitch for silently making fun of her. She wiped her eyes with her palms before unlocking the door, and approached the mirror and faucets. She frowned at the terrible streaks her mascara had made under her eyes and cheeks. Turning on the sink, she splashed the lukewarm water on her face and used a paper towel to clean her 'raccoon eyes' and cheeks.

Before she had retreating into the bathroom earlier, her father asked her to stay with Aloine.

"I might have a lead on where Aloine comes from. She might still have family in the area. I'll be back a soon as I can. Just stay with her, okay? See if you can get anything out of her." and with that, he disappeared into the rain.

Amanda straightened up her hair before exiting the bathroom. She trailed down the hall before reaching Aloine's room. Knocking as she entered, Amanda heard Aloine coughing. Aloine was standing in front of the window at the far end of the room. Her odd clothing, shoes and sweater was draped across a chair in the corner. Amanda shut the door behind her. She grabbed Aloine's 'clothing' off the chair and plopped down on the bed. She ran her hands across the soft , stretchy fabric. Despite the fact Aloine had been walking around I the rain, it was completely dry. Aloine turned her head and stared at the Amanda ooman. Amanda smiled softly. The hospital gown Aloine was wearing came down to her knees. It almost looked as though she was wearing a large paper bag. Amanda held the clothing out and jestered to her.

"Here. You should put this back on..I can't imagine that being very warm."

Aloine nodded and and started to remove th hospital gown. Amanda chuckled to herself; she wasn't very modest. As The hospital gown fell, Amanda felt her spine shiver. Aloine had a remarkable number of the 'burn' tattoos all over her body. Most of them where swirl designs and odd characters with the exception of one over her left breast. Amanda looked away as she handed Aloine her clothing. As she dressed, Aloine coughed again, only a little more violently.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Aloine shook her head and finished dressing.

"you sure? Okay. Um...what's with the tattoo on you chest?"

Amanda watched as she placed a hand over her heart.

"It means...I belong to Rokian."

"Rokian? Is he the one who took you?"

"He was my...mate. But...now it doesn't matter..."

Aloine turned back to the window. An awkward silence hung in the air. Amanda, still confused by the previous statement, cleared her throat. She forced a smile.

"Aloine? Could I ask you something else? What was your life like up there?"

Aloine tilted her head toward Amanda, then leaned against the wall. Aloine was shivering and looked slightly pale. Amanda's forced smile faded.

"I...I liked my life. What is going..to happen to me...now?...My life... I was learning..to be...a hunter...I was happy..I..Rokian...they..won't want me..back now..."

Aloine toppled to her knees. Amanda shot up from from the bed and reached out her arms, stopping Aloine's head from hitting the floor.

"Aloine?! Aloine! Are you okay? ALOINE!!"

Shirley appeared behind her, dropping a vial and clip board on the bed. She pulled Aloine's eyes open then placed her hand over Aloine's forehead.

"She's running a fever. Move, Amanda, I'm going to put her on the bed."

Amanda stood up and backed away to the bathroom door, watching Shirley lift the alien girl off the floor and onto the bed. She pulled the covers over Aloine.

"Young Lady, I told you to stay in bed. You just lay here, honey. I'll going to go get something for the fever."

As Shirley comforted Aloine, Amanda's eyes panned to the clipboard and vial taped onto it. She looked at Shirley, then back to the clipboard. It was Aloine's paper work and her blood in the vial. Amanda's imagination began to churn. She had seen all types of alien movies. One in particular was about a man who was abducted by aliens. When he was returned to earth, the government found him and experimented on him until he couldn't take it anymore and stabbed himself with an empty needle. Shirley poked her head out of the room and called to someone down the hall. A nurse appeared in the room, carrying a needle. Shirley took the needle and injected Aloine with Penicillin. Shirley straightened her hair and handed the nurse the needle.

"Oh, before I forget. Doctor, there is someone here to see you. They are in the waiting room."

Amanda's head shot up. Shirley followed the nurse out of the room. Amanda's curiosity peaked and followed stealthily down the hallway. Shirley walked into the waiting room and approached two men. Amanda peered into the room. One look at the black suited 'J and K' men and Amanda knew she had a problem. She turned on her heel and bolted down to Aloine's room. She approached the semi conscience girl.

"Okay, Aloine. We gotta go, we have to leave. Come on, get up."

Aloine groaned as Amanda wrapped Aloine's arm around her neck and pulled her from the bed. Aloine coughed and stood on wobbly legs. With her other hand, Amanda grabbed the clipboard and wrapped it around Aloine's waist. The two girls slowly walked into the hallway and swiftly made it down to the staircase. As the staircase door closed, Shirley and the two men began to approach Aloine's, now vacant, room.


	16. Little runaway

AUTHORS NOTE: Aloine makes a reference to the Aliens...Xenomorph..just in case you don't know what it is. I, myself, had to look it up

------------------ -------------------------------- ------------------------------- -----------------------

Conder jumped out of his car and ran to the porch of the old house. He pulled his hood down and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. He could feel a wave of exhaustion rear it's ugly head. He pulled the folded paper bearing the address and box number out of his back pocket, then hesitantly rapped on the door with his knuckle. Conder was surprised by the small trace of fear hiding behind his thoughts. He had to deal with kids all of the time, but her problem touched him. Aloine seemed like such a sweet kid; she deserved better. He cracked his knuckles. This was his one and only lead. If officer Wake had moved years before, Conder was screwed. Aloine would become one of the hundreds of kids in the city being raised by the foster system. The porch light flickered on as the door inched open. A frail elderly woman peeked out from behind the chain locked door. She adjusted her coke bottle glasses.

"Yes? May I help you?"

Conder showed his badge and smiled at the woman.

"Hello ma'am. I'm Officer Micheal Conder. I was wondering if Richard Wake still lived here?"

The woman's eyes narrowed, focusing her vision.

"Richard? oh...", the woman shut the door. Conder heard metal hit against the door as she unlocked and opened the door. "Yes, What do you need from Richard?"

She waved him in as she slowly made her way down the hall.

"Well, he still has something that belongs to the station. I came down to get it."

"Ah, I see. Richard? There's someone here to see you."

A voice came from the kitchen.

"Eh? Someones here? At this hour?"

Conder closed the door and followed the woman to the kitchen. As Conder entered, a man sitting at the table lowered the newspaper he was reading. Richard's aging eyes narrowed as he smiled. Conder didn't know Richard all that well, he just knew _of_ him. Wake was one of the stations best detectives before he retired. Richard removed his reading glasses and extended his hand. Conder shook his hand before sitting down across from him.

"Well, hello. What brings you down here in this terrible weather?"

Conder intertwined his fingers with one another and took a deep breath.

"Wake, I was wondering if you happened to still have the box you checked out from the evidence locker...say, twenty years ago?"

Richard sat back in his chair and folded his arms. He sat there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as if thinking. Conder leaned forward on his elbows. Richard shook his head sadly.

"It was the biggest disappointment of my career. After all these years, I could never figure out what had happened to her."

Conder jumped to his feet.

"you have the box, then?!"

Richard stood and had Conder follow him up the stairs to his study.

" I had been on the force for only, about three years when the case came in. Aloine. I wanted so much to find her unhurt..."

When they entered the study, Conder was flabbergasted. Newspaper clippings, random evidence, several crime scene photos and...Aloine's picture in a frame, were scattered through out the study. It tugged at his heart. Wake really _did_ spend his career trying to find someone that practically landed in Conder's lap. Wake sat at his desk and picked up the picture of Aloine.

"I don't know why I keep looking over this. The kid would have to be dead by now or God, at least in her 40's. I've dealt with hundreds of cases involving missing children or runaways. I don't know why I could never solve this."

Conder sat across from Wake. He could see the sadness behind Richards eyes.

"Does she have any family left in the area?"

Wake sat the photo down.

"Yes. Her father. It's such a tragedy. After his daughter disappeared, he lost it. He'd show up at the station every time he heard we had found a body; always in tears. His child was everything to him. He stopped going to work or caring about his appearance. I went to visit him about a year ago. He still lives in the same, shanty apartment. He kept her room the same way she left it. It's really heart breaking."

Conder chocked back the knot building in his throat.

"You had no leads at all?"

"Well I thought, at first, I thought she just ran away, but runaways don't just leave without any clothing or essentials. Especially not a teenage girl. Then I thought she was a victim of a suspected rapist. We found her blood type at the scene of his murder but, that was back in the seventies. We didn't have forensics then so that was all I had to go on. It was so odd. It was like she disappeared into thin air.."

Conder smiled to himself. Richard had no idea how close that was to the truth. Richard began to bundle the files and such back into the box.

"I see. Richard? Do you, by chance, still have the address for her father?"

Wake leaned forward and let out a heavy sigh. He reached under the papers and pulled out a card with something scribbled on the back of it. He handed it to Conder.

"I don't understand why you want it, but here. This is where he's at."

Conder looked at the card, then did a double take.

"...Isn't this address?"

Richard shook his head.

"Saint Havens Hospital. He was diagnosed with heart disease a couple years back. He refused a transplant. He's dying."

------------------------ ------------------------------------- -----------------------------

Spike was quite interested with the events he had observed involving Rokians little whore. He had followed her from place to place with two other oomans until they reached a hospital. He had been waiting on the roof tops for them to come out when he noticed the older male ooman leave alone. After about another hour 'Lovely' and another young, female ooman left together. The girl hailed a taxi and pushed 'lovely' inside the automobile. He tilted his head. It appeared as though 'lovely' was nearly unconscious. The ooman girl had practically dragged her to the car and pushed her inside. Spike shadowed them as the car drove through the thick rain. He got a sick satisfaction from hunting Rokian's ooman. It was just him and the girl. Rokian wasn't there to save his precious mate. He was going to enjoy finally taking her life. After about twenty minutes, the car stopped in front of a large housing building. Spike smiled greedily to himself.

_"After I'm done with your Lovely, Rokian. I'll have some fun with her little friend."_

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The taxi driver stared at Aloine as Amanda pushed her into the car. Amanda noticed him eye Aloine. She smiled and forced a fake laugh.

"Don't mind her. She drank too much at my friends house. She's totally plastered. I gotta take her home or her mom'll freak."

The driver rolled his eyes muttering something about 'stupid teenagers' and pulled the car into drive.

"Where to?"

Aloine leaned against Amanda's shoulder. Even through her sweater, Amanda could feel her body heat. Aloine was really sick. She wondered when the medicine Shirley gave Aloine would kick in.

"Um...36th and Carta. It'll be the Castle heights apartment building on the right."

Amanda leaned back in the seat and sighed in relief as the car pulled out. She turned her head, watching the hospital faded in the dark. She sighed and looked at the stolen clipboard. She knew she was going to be in a lot of trouble if they caught her, but it was too late to go back now. She stared at the blood in the vial. It had already started to coagulate, but in a odd way. The way it separated seemed off. Part was red, the other was tinted a bright green. It almost looked like it was glowing. Amanda glanced down at Aloine. She had gave Aloine her letterman jacket she had in her backpack to keep warm. It didn't seem to do much; she was still pale and shivering. She smiled softly.

"You're turning me into a criminal...", she whispered to the alien girl. "I've technically kidnapped you and I stole from a hospital."

Aloine stirred and opened her eyes slightly.

"Where are...we going..dad?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow..

"Dad?..Aloine are you...?"

Aloine coughed and locked her arm around Amanda's left side.

"Daddy...I wanted..to show you...my new dress...for the dance...recital.."

Amanda tilted her head to get a look at Aloine's face. Her eyes were half opened like she was talking in her sleep...or delirious.

"Andrei says...I get to be..the lead."

Amanda's eyes shot open wide. Andrei. The name of the Ballet place on Aloine's missing persons poster. When she thought about it, she recalled there WAS an Andrei's ballet in the city, but it had long been gone for years. It was now a Shaker's Pizza parlor. Aloine squeezed Amanda's arm bringing her out of her thoughts. She stared at the top Aloine's head. She was rambling in English and some unknown language.

"Rokian...promised me..._he'd always protect me._...but how can he...if he's not here? Spike...spike is...he.._he's goin to_..."

The cab suddenly stopped. The cabbie swung around with his hand out.

"fourteen fifty."

Amanda dug into her letterman jacket and handed him a ten and five singles. She hopped out of the car, then turned and pulled Aloine out. She took Aloine's arm and swung it over her neck to help carry her better.

"This is my dads apartment. It's up a couple floors. Come on. I'll get you a nice hot bath and some medicine, okay? I have a room here, so I'll get you some clean clothes too. I mean, if I have any still here."

They walked through the lobby, then into the elevator. Amanda shot anyone an icy stare who stared at Aloine. When they reached the 3rd floor, Amanda and Aloine limped out the elevator and down the hall to the last door on the left. Amanda pulled a string necklace out from under her shirt that had a key tied to it. Aloine watched her as she leaned forward to unlock the door without taking the necklace off. Amanda smiled at her.

"I, uh lose keys easy so I put them on this make shift lanyard so I won't."

Amanda pushed the door open with her knee and helped Aloine through. She sat her on the couch, then turned and went down the hall to the bathroom. When she was a little girl and was sick, her dad always ran her a nice warm bath and gave her chicken noodle soup afterwards. It made her feel better. Amanda turned on the bath tub. She ran her hand under the water until it was hot enough, then turned to the medicine cabinet to see what she was working with. She fingered through a couple bottles until she came to one. It was a prescription bottle for her father. She pulled it out and turned it on its side to read it.

"For the treatment of clinical depression...oh, dad...", She slowly placed the bottle back in its place. She had no idea her father was depressed. It had to have been from the divorce and how she treated him. She really was a pain. Her father was sad and she was too full of herself to see it. Amanda wiped her eyes of traces of tears and grabbed the Dayquil he had on the bottom shelf. It was almost empty, but there was enough for at least one dosage. Before leaving the bathroom, she added a large amount of body wash to the tub to have it bubble up, then turned off the tub. Aloine was laying on the couch, covering her eyes with her hands. She looked so tired. Amanda shook her shoulder softy and coaxed her into the bathroom. Holding Aloine's shoulders, she led her to sit on the edge of the tub. Amanda held out a little plastic cup with orange liquid in it.

"Okay, this is going to taste absolutely horrible. But...it's good for you, okay?"

Aloine took the cup from Amanda. She held I under her nose only to jerk it away. She scrunched her nose. It smelled worse than a dead xenomorph. Amanda laughed.

"I know, I know. But I promise you, it'll help. Hold your breath and just down it one gulp. That's what I do."

Aloine inhaled hard, brought the cup to her lips and gulped it down. She coughed and gagged lightly. Amanda couldn't help but giggle at the twisted face Aloine made. Amanda took the cup from her hand and stood her up.

"See? It wasn't that bad. Here. You can take a bath and get the dirt and um, blood off. See, feel. The water feels great, huh? Here I'll help you."

Amanda helped Aloine undress and helped her into the ocean of bubbles. Amanda was secretly jealous of Aloines amazing physique. She had the toned body of one of those girls you'd see on the infomercials promoting some random workout tape. Amanda always wanted a body similar to Aloine's, but never had time for the gym. Where ever in space Aloine had been, it must have had one hell of a gym. Amanda chuckled at her silly thoughts. She squeezed shampoo into her hand and rubbed them together to work up a lather.

"Put your head back, I'm gonna wash your hair, okay?"

Aloine complied and closed her eyes as Amanda worked the shampoo into Aloine's hair. Amanda was amazed about how many jewels and beads where in her hair. Dirt and filthy water had clung onto the gems, blending them into her hair. She rinsed off the alien girls hair and sat back on her heels. Aloine looked almost royal.

"You lucky girl! Where'd all the jewels n' stuff come from? Are you a princess or something? These look expensive. Oh, wow."

Aloine looked at her without turning her head. She smiled at Amanda. She was such a funny ooman.

"Most of them...were given to me...by Rokian. They are engagement gifts. It shows.. all the comrades that I belong to him..."

"Rokian...yeah, you mentioned him before. Your..uh..mate, right? So kinda like your husband? Man, you married young.."

Aloine smiled and nodded. Amanda's eyes flickered wide for a moment, then stood and handed Aloine a luffa.

"I almost forgot something. Here, you can scrub yourself with this. I'll be right back."

Amanda disappeared from the bathroom momentarily, then reappeared with the clipboard in hand. Aloine watched as piece by piece, Amanda ooman took the pieces of paper and tore them into little shreds. She discarded them into the toilet. She then opened the vial of Aloine's blood and poured it into the toilet along with the shredded paper and flushed twice. She pumped hand soap into the vial and ran hot water into it and tossed it into the trash. Amanda left the bathroom again and went into her room. She opened her untouched closet and pulled out a large, plastic blue tub. She opened it and dumped out the hundreds of Barbie's occupying the tub onto the floor. She put the clipboard at the bottom of the tub, then covered it with the Barbie army. She kicked the tub into the back corner of her closet and covered it with other boxes.

She then turned her attention to what clothes she had hanging above her. It was a pathetic amount. Since she hadn't slept over at her dads for a while, all there were was jackets and random pants. She dug into her closet to see if she could find something that could fit Aloine. Between two jackets, she found a white sun dress. It was made from a very soft fabric and had lilies embroidered on the bottom left side of it. Her father had bought it for her long ago, but she could never wear it because it was too small...on the other hand, it looked about right for Aloine. She had also found a pair of unused cheerleader bloomers in one of her dresser drawers. It was better than nothing. After all, Aloine couldn't run around town with no panties. She reentered the bathroom just as Aloine finished washing her face.

" You done? Here, I got you some new clothes. It's not much, but it'll feel gross if you took a nice bath and had to get into the same dirty clothes. I'll wash it for you, okay? Here's a towel to dry off with."

Aloine stared at Amanda, then cracked a smile. She reached under her hair and pulled out a blue jewel with a hole at the top, like it was once on a necklace. She held it before Amanda.

"Are...are you giving me that? I...I can't take it. It looks way too expensive."

Aloine reached out her other hand, taking a hold of Amanda's hand. She pushed the jewel into her hand and smiled.

"On my world, female Yautja gives gifts of gems to others to show their friendship and respect."

Amanda stared down at the jewel as Aloine took the towel and started to dry off. Amanda smiled and took off a beaded bracelet and handed it to Aloine after she put on the bloomers.

"Here. It's a friendship bracelet. On Earth, friends exchange these to show friendship."

Amanda helped Aloine put the bracelet on, when she felt her cellphone vibrate in her sweater. She pulled it out and walked into the hallway to answer it. It was her friend Michelle. She strung the jewel with her house key and answered the phone as she re knotted it.

"Hey, Michelle."

"Hey Mandy, what's up? Hey, guess what? I got this awesome picture of fat Patty eating a whole pie by herself. I was at Ihop with my parents and she was sitting at one of the booths totally eating a whole pie! Isn't that freakin' hilarious? Anyways, it's on my phone. I can sen..."

"I don't care, Michelle."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Wha, what? But, you loved making fun of that lard ass. Now suddenly, you don't care?"

Aloine caught a glimpse of Aloine holding the dress out in front of her, examining it.

"I just don't anymore, okay? I don't fucking care! Why do have to be such bitches all the time? Why is it so funny to everyone to torture Patty? It's not funny."

"Psst! What's gotten into you?"

Amanda closed the bathroom door to let Aloine change in peace.

"It's just stupid, okay. I don't want to hurt anybodies feelings anymore. It...it just isn't...right."

"Whatever, Mandy. I'm gonna..."

"And that's another thing...I hate being called Mandy!"

Amanda slapped her cellphone shut and shoved it back into her sweater pocket. She turned toward the bathroom, only to come face to face with Aloine. She hopped back, surprised.

"Jeez! I didn't even hear the bathroom door open. You're like a ninja! Oh, hey! Your balancing on your own. I guess that stuff the doc gave you must be kicking in. Well, that's good news."

Amanda took a step back and stared at her. She looked nice; Tattoos and all. Aloine carried her old clothing in the room with her. Amanda took it and folded it on the coffee table.

"You look super cute!"

"..cute."

She laughed when she noticed Aloine's hair. It was tangled and untamed.

"We need to brush your hair."

Amanda wrapped Aloine with a blanket sitting on the couch, then sat on the couch with a brush and had Aloine sit in front of her on the carpet. Amanda had a hard time brushing through Aloine's hair on account of the different strands that were braided. Not to mention the beads and jewels. Eventually, she got the knack of combing the free hair, while moving the braided part out of the way. Amanda was so curious about Aloine's past, she just had to ask more questions.

"Aloine? What's space like? I've only seen it in the movies or on TV. I've always wanted to see what it's like in real life."

Aloine exhaled quietly.

"It's very quiet. You could stand in the middle of it...and yell and yell, and no one will ever hear you. And...just when you think that it can't get any bigger, you find something else. I liked staring out the cabin at all the stars and thinking they were all planets, just waiting to be discovered. I miss it."

Aloine sighed deeply before scooting around to face Amanda. Her eyes were becoming misty.

"I...I really am from this planet...aren't I?"

Amanda frowned. She made it sound so horrible.

"Yeah...I think you are."

Aloine's shoulder slumped and her head sagged.

"I...don't understand...I..I have two memories. When I see things here, I think of a ooman male. When I do, my chest hurts. I must be from here..So does that mean...Rokian has been lying to me? All this time?"

"Aloine, I..."

A loud crash rumbled in both of the girls ears as broken glass and shattered pieces of window frame fell around them. Amanda let out a frightened yell as a very large man wearing a mask emerged from the gapping hole that was once a window. Aloine jumped to her feet and stood between Amanda and the monster of a man. A deep metallic chuckle flowed from behind the mask.

"_Hello, _Lovely_. I see you've decided to dress up for me._"

Aloine felt her insides churn.

"Spike..."

---------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------------------------------------

Lovely sat in the room alone for several minutes before slowly retreating to hers and Rokian's room. The door opened with a soft hiss. Her shoulders fell when she realized he wasn't there. She sat on the bed, pondering why Rokian had acted the way he did. She fell backwards onto the bed and turned onto her side. She knew for a while that she was in love with Rokian, but was unsure what to do about the feelings. She saw how the others looked at her; she knew she was different. She knew they hated her. That was why she never said anything before. What if she had told him and Rokian was disgusted by her remark? The time that they would arrive home was growing close; she had to prove to him that she loved him before he decided he didn't want her.

--------------------------------- --------------------------------- ------------------------------

Jovy made her way silently to Spikes chamber. She looked around and rapped on door.

_"What the hell do you want?"_

Jovy turned to the source of the voice. Spike was leaning against the wall across the hall. Jovy straightened out her back.

_"I have a proposition for you."_

Spike walked past her, opened his door and walked into his room.

_"Not interested."_

Jovy slammed her hand against the door, stopping it from closing.

_"It's about Rokian's ooman!"_

Spike paused then turned and folded his arms against his broad chest, smiling.

_"Okay...I'm listening."_

Jovy entered his room and waited for the door to close.

_"When we dock tomorrow, I'll distract Rokian long enough for you to take her. Smuggle her off the ship and sell her. I know you know where the ooman sex slave trades are."_

Spike raised an eye ridge.

_"I wonder if I should be insulted by your accusation. Either way, why should I help you? What's your problem with the ooman?"_

Jovy turned her head away, a glint of anger and pain lit up her face.

_"That bitch is taking away a great mate. If she is out of the way, perhaps Rokian will see that mating with his own kind is for the best. I've already contacted the station. I told him that there is a suspected flesh smuggler aboard. I will lead them to Rokian. He'll be in custody and can't look for her then. It will be investigated and they won't find her so Rokian will be freed. Then he can grow up and stop this ridiculous charade."_

Spike smirked.

_"You still haven't answered why I should help you."_

Jovy's eyes narrowed, then closed.

_"You can do what you want to the ooman girl...and keep whatever money you get for her. Just get rid of her."_


	17. I love you, Rokian

AUTHORS NOTE: OKAY! There is a sex scene in this chapter...I tried to make it more love-ish than sex-ish because the first draft was pretty much smut..lol..plus, this chappie gets a little dark..so yeah.

_Pyode Amedha- predator language 'soft meat'_

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Rokian raced to the abandoned training room. He had been so overwhelmed by his thoughts, he left Lovely ALONE! He reached the room and panicked when she wasn't there. How could he have done such a thing? He ran to his room. The door opened and much to his relief, Lovely was asleep on the bed. He let out a huge sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. He locked the door and sat next to the sleeping girl. Rokian ran his fingers through her hair causing her to stir. Her eyes flickered open. The second her eyes found Rokian, her face turned bright red. She sat up and smiled softy.

"Hi, Rokian. I... I'm sorry. I don't know what I did to upset you but..."

He rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"No...no, it wasn't anything..you did."

Lovely felt her cheeks burn. She wanted to be his so badly. Rokian felt so relieved to know Lovely was okay. He silently cursed himself for leaving her alone. He clicked happily as he stroked her cheek. She lowered her head, then looked up at him; she was nervous about something. Before Rokian could ask, Lovely kissed his hand as it rested on her cheek. It made Rokian's heart skip. She leaned forward and nuzzled his neck, softly running her lips against it. Her hot breath tickled his neck.

"Rokian...I..I want to be your mate... I want to be..with you. I have for a while."

Rokian leaned back on his elbows, almost shocked by her sudden forwardness; not that he was complaining. She climbed on top of him and began kissing his neck. He wrapped one hand around her and swung her beneath him. He held himself up on his hands, smiling down at her.

"Lovely...Are you..sure you..want to?"

He couldn't help but notice the bright shade of pink her cheeks were. She turned her head to the side and nodded.

"M..more than anything."

She closed her eyes as she felt Rokian carefully remove her clothing. She covered her breasts as he pulled the remainder of her clothing down her legs. Her cheeks and ears burned, feeling Rokian run his hand along her stomach to her arms. He gently pulled them apart. Rokian stared down at his Lovely. She looked back up with him with a small trace of fear in her eyes.

"It's okay, Lovely. I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you. I've wanted this...for such a long time."

She smiled nervously. Rokian felt the hunger for her ring loudly in his ear. This time, however, he could act on his desire. He ran his fingers along her body. She was soft and smelled so sweet. He wanted her. He felt his heart pound against his chest . Lovely reached up and trailed her hand against the side of his face.

"I..I have too. I..I'm okay, r-really. Don't stop."

She placed her hands on his shoulders as he cupped her breast in his hand. He softly rubbed it. Lovely let out a quiet moan and grasped his shoulders as he traced his tongue around it. He lowered his free hand down to free himself from the strain against his lower clothing. Lovely felt a wave of panic hit her when she realized what was about to transpire. She knew it would hurt. She stiffened suddenly, feeling his hand against her private. Rokian frowned to himself as he felt Lovely. He was worried if it was going to fit. She seemed so small. Hesitantly, he positioned himself between Lovely's legs. He lowered himself back onto his elbows and wiped the sweat from Lovely's forehead. With a small push forward, Rokian entered her. Lovely let out a yelp through her teeth and dug her nails into his upper arm. He lowered himself on top of her as he pushed deeper inside her. Tears threatened the rims of her eyes. It hurt so bad! He felt the head of his member touch her barrier. Rokian stopped just short of the hymen. He raise himself up to face Lovely.

"Ready?"

Lovely nodded. She was never so sure about anything more than this moment. She loved Rokian. She wanted to be his. Rokian lowered himself, adjusted and with one solid push, he broke past the hymen. Lovely cried out, mostly from surprise. Rokian ran his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. She smiled through the steady stream of tears in her eyes. Very slowly, he began a rocking motion against her that washed away most of the pain. Rokian let out a throaty moan. It felt amazing to be inside of her. He thrusted as soft as he could without the fear of breaking her bones. He was finally taking his Lovely. He brushed the traces of tears from her eyes. He raised himself up onto his elbows. He was silently amused by Lovely, who looked down to watch him push inside her. Her face was beat red and was sweating slightly. He smiled at his mate. Lovely reached behind his neck to pull his head closer to hers. It felt different and good what Rokian was doing to her. The pain was mostly gone. The rhythm of his thrusts replaced the pain with an amazing feeling; one that was building up... lovely arched her back and groaned. Rokian felt her tighten around him. It felt too good, it made him want to..

Lovely felt Rokian's body stiffen as his grip tightened around her. Lovely's breath caught in her throat when she felt warm liquid fill her inside. She swallowed hard and clamped her eyes shut. She could feel Rokian's heart beating rapidly against his chest. He raised his hand and brushed away stray strands of hair from his Lovely's face. It was done. She was now completely his. Rokian wrapped his arm behind her back, switching her position from below him, to on top of him. He reached for his blanket that had fallen to the floor during the 'exercise'. Rokian wrapped it around the both of them. Lovely laid her head on his chest. She felt some what embarrassed, yet overwhelmed with happiness. He truly cared for her too. She was now his mate. Rokian rubbed his large hands up and down her naked back. Sex with Lovely was much better than he imagined it. He laid his head back and gleamed. In twelve hours they would dock at home. Lovely could finally see what her new home would be like.

----------------------- --------------------------------------- ------------------------------- -------------

Lovely awoke several hours later in a somewhat daze. She raised her head. She was still laying on Rokian. His rhythmic breathing was a give away that he was still asleep. Her eyes widened at the realization of what happened hours ago. Her face turned bright red as she climbed off of him, only to fall to the floor. Her legs were shaky and made it hard to stand. Lovely glanced over at Rokian. He was still asleep. She stared curiously at the blanket still covering his lower part. Very carefully, she raised the blanket then dropped it and giggled into her hand. She'd never really got a good look at _one_ before; what they had done earlier had been a blur. She stood with the help of the wall. She frowned at the sticky, painful feeling between her legs. She pushed open the closet to retrieve a smaller blanket. She covered herself, scooped up her clothing, unlocked the door and hurried across the hallway to the shower room. From the other end of the hallway, a comrade watched as the ooman girl disappeared into the bathroom.

Once inside, Lovely tossed the blanket carelessly to the side and turned on the faucet. Warm water gushed from socket. Lovely rubbed her skin, removing the sweat, blood and Rokian's semen from her body. As she watched the color of the water went from red to pink and back to clear, she wondered if she'd become pregnant. She smiled. How wonderful that would be. She finished and used one of the many stacked towels in the corner of the room. As she dressed, she heard the sound of the door opening behind her. She smiled.

"Rokian, you're too late, I'm already done. You should have gotten up earli..."

Lovely turned right into Spike's chest. Lovely opened her mouth to scream, but Spike wrapped his hand around her mouth. She struggled against him, clawing at his arm. Spike's mouth twisted in dark smile as he maneuvered a needle in his other hand.

_"Hello, my love. I think it's time we go somewhere a little more private."_

He hit her in the back of her head, causing her to fall to her knees. Spike grabbed the back of Lovely's neck and plunged the needle Jovy gave him into her back.He watched as the clear liquid in the needle slowly emptied. Lovely slowly stopped resisting as the liquid hit her blood stream. Spike chuckled. The tranquilizer worked quicker than he thought. He picked her up and laid her in a large, white bag filled with dirty towels. He covered her body with other towels and tied the top in a knot, then heaved the sac over his shoulder. He walked nonchalantly out of the bathroom. Spike glanced down the hallway, noticing Jovy pointing three of the Master Elder's guards down the hall. With a smirk, Spike strolled passed them as they made their way to Rokian's room. He grinned at Jovy as he went by her.

Spike walked down the exit ramp and around all the guards as he made it toward the cleaning service corridor. He couldn't help but laugh to himself. The guards didn't even give him a second glance. They never did.

------------------------------ --------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------

Rokian stirred. He opened his eyes, then immediately sat up. Lovely was missing. He turned his attention to the open closet and missing clothing from the floor. He released his held breath and smiled. She must have went to shower herself off. He stood and reached for his clothing. As he redressed, he mused about Lovely. He felt himself become aroused by the thought of Lovely soaking wet and naked. She was alone and vulnerable; He'd have to do something about that. As the door opened, he was met by three guards. Two of them suddenly grabbed him by the arms, forcing him out of his room. Rokian's eyes darted from the bathroom to the guard entering his room, scanning it.

_"What's going on?!"_

The guard reemerged from Rokain's room with his hands behind his back.

_"We have received a complaint that you are suspected of transferring P__yode Amedha__ for the __purpose of sex. This is a serious offense, you understand."_

Rokian shook his head, his thoughts still on Lovely whom he believed to still be in the bathroom.

_"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"_

_"What is going on here?"_

One of the Elders approached the three guards.

_"Sir, we have reason to believe that Rokian has been flesh smuggling. We must take him into custody."_

The Elder frowned and shook his head.

_"No, not Rokian. He's not the type to do so."_

The guards cuffed Rokian.

_"Forgive me, sir. We have orders from the Master Elder herself. We are to investigate and bring him to her."_

One of the guards noticed Rokian's nervous glance toward the bathroom. Rokian felt his heart stop as the guard trailed over to the bathroom and entered. He clamped his eyes shut, expecting to hear Lovely scream. Seconds later, the guard left the bathroom and started walking with the guards.

_"Empty. If he's smuggling oomans, I bet they'll be in the storage rooms." _

The Elder could only watch as Rokian was led away by the three guards. As they passed by Jovy, Rokian glared at her.

_"I know it was you."_, Rokian thought. Jovy smiled softly. Her plan was working out wonderfully.

---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -----------------------------

Spike walked to the end of the corridor and out the back door. He had a ways to go before reaching the 'flesh markets'. He hoped the tranquilizer would keep the ooman girl out long enough to reach the outskirts of town. Spike was no stranger to flesh peddling. He had done it several times. Kidnapping them was easy. It was smuggling them aboard and getting them to stay quiet on and off the ship that was the hard part. Since the trip from Earth to home took several months, he could only take one or two ooman females at a time. He'd always grab them young. Youngest he took was about twelve or so. He'd smuggle them aboard, beat them to keep them quiet, and smuggled them off the ship the way he always did. No one ever thought twice about him taking the laundry to the cleaning corridor. He smirked to himself. The Yautja he knew always paid big money for the young, untouched ooman girls. This time, however, was different. Rokian and his ooman had ruined his plans to take one girl earlier. Too many of the comrades were snooping around; even in the area he normally hid the girls. Spike would hurt Rokian the best way he knew how. He was going to rape Rokian's little ooman; steal her virginity before he had the chance, then sell her to Raut.

Hours later, Spike came upon, what appeared to be, abandoned housing areas. He came to a steel framed door on the back of one of the buildings. Spike heard the ooman in the sac stir and murmur. He banged on the door. A small panel moved on the top of the door. Spike approached the door.

_"It's Spike. I'm here to see Raut. I have...a delivery."_

The panel slammed shut and after a moment, the door opened. On the other side of the door was a long set of stairs leading down. Spike glanced at the comrade behind the door as he made his way down the stairs. As he walked, the sound of music and chatter became more and more distinctive. As he pushed through the door at the end of the stairs, loud music slammed against his ears. The large room was dark and filled with several different comrades, all surrounding four round, platforms. On each platform was a different female ooman dancing provocatively in the middle; some looked terrified, others seemed to enjoy the attention. Spike made his way through the crowd and into a back hallway. He pushed through a door and into a lighter room. It was basically empty except for one chair facing away from the door and a similar round platform, only smaller. A young woman stripped on the platform. Spike sat the sac down to his side and enjoyed the sight of the girl's nude body. A hand appeared from the other side of the chair.

_"Like what you see, Spike? three hundred and she's yours for two hours."_

A trace of fear showed behind the platform girls eyes. Spike picked up the bag and circled to the front of the chair.

_"Not today. I brought a new girl; a virgin."_

_"Hah, ho! Very good. My rate is the same for the virgins. Once she's examined, You'll have your twenty eight hundred."_

Spike knelt down and untied the sack.

_"Not this time. I want the first taste of this one.."_

Spike pulled the girl from the white sac and sat her on the ground. Raut eyed the girl. She looked dazed. She glanced around, unsure of what to make of the room. The girl on the platform frowned. Spike brought in yet another girl. He was going to 'break her in'. Raut waved his hand in front of his face.

_"Very well. But since she's attractive, I'm charging full price. One thousand and no cheaper."_

Spike grabbed Aloine's wrist, pulling her to her feet.

_"Deal."_

Raut waved to the girl on the platform.

_"Emma, take Spike to one of the rooms. Hustle."_

'Emma' bowed and climbed down. She bowed to Spike before leading him into the hallway. Collaborating sounds such as moans could be heard through out the hallway. Spike eyed Emma as she walked in front of him. He recognized her. He had her once before he left for the hunts on Earth. Emma stopped in front of the very last room. She hated walking through that hallway to lead customers; even more when she had to go in the room with them. Spike smirked at Emma as he entered the room. She glanced at the half conscience girl he had in his arms. She looked so young. Emma pitied the girl. Spike winked at Emma as the door behind him.

He laid Aloine on the floor only long enough to loosen his belt. He was going to enjoy this. Aloine stared at him dazed for a moment before her eyes shot open wide. Spike smiled sickly, watching her scoot backwards until her back hit the wall.

_"You're finally fully awake. Good. I like it when they struggle."_

_"_Where...where am I? _Where's Rokian?!_"

Aloine glared at him, then looked around the room trying to find a way out.

"Where are you? It's your new home. But, don't be scared, Rokian can't visit you, but I can. We'll have a lot of fun, 'Lovely'."

Aloine stood, holding her fists out in front of her.

"Don't you ever call me that! Only Rokian can call me that!!"

Spike left out a deep chuckle. He grabbed her hand and smacked her across the face. He then grabbed her by the throat, picked her up and slammed her on the bed; pinning her down.

"I think Rokian is the least of your problems, Lovely."

She punched and scratched at him with surprising force. He chuckled again; he loved it when they fought, though she seemed to have gotten stronger than before. He reached down, freeing his member. Aloine fought him hard as he yanked down her clothing, trying to free his grip from her throat. She squirmed, feeling him glide his fingers along her private. She felt tears weld up at the rims of her eyes as he lowered his head to her neck. He inhaled her scent, then stopped moving. He raised his head and stared at her, confused. He brought up the hand he had been touching her with to his eye level. Traces of blood and clear liquid glazed his finger tips. She had the smell of Rokian on her. His confusion turned to anger.

"You fucking whore!"

Spike punched her in the stomach before pushing her onto the floor. Aloine coughed, bringing herself up to her knees. Spike covered himself back up.

"I _knew_ it! I knew Rokian was going to fuck you, but I didn't think he'd do it so soon. _God Dammit! I should have fucked you when I got the chance!"_

He punched against the wall, leaving a dipped impression. Aloine cradled her sore stomach with her hands. Spike ripped the door open. He turned his head in her direction.

"Enjoy it here. You'll never leave. Don't bother hoping Rokian will come for you. He's been arrested. He doesn't even know where you are and he never will."

He angerly walked out and down the hallway. After she was sure he was gone, she allowed the tears she fought back to fall. What had happened while she had been knocked out? Why was Rokian arrested? She stared out the open door. She could escape and find her Rokian. She redressed quickly and bolted to the door, only for a female to block her way. She was tall, with dark green eyes, black hair and large breasts. Aloine fell back onto her butt. The woman looked down at the new '_Pyode Amedha'_, as the Yautja called them. Spike was quick with this one.

"Come on, get up. I'm taking you to the girls room."

Aloine stood after a minute and reluctantly followed the woman out. She led Aloine down the hall and up some stairs to a back room. The woman pushed open the door. The room had seven or eight girls in the room either dressing or putting on makeup. The were all half naked. The whole room had a heavy sense of gloom. They all looked up at the two people in the doorway.

"One of you girls tell her what to do. She's been broken in."

The tall woman pushed Aloine through the door and shut the door behind her. All of the girls except one went back to prepping. Aloine stared up at her with her odd eyes. The woman never saw a human with a yellow eye. She gave Aloine a comforting smile.

"English, right? Hi, I'm Emma.", the girl pointed at Aloine's lower half. " Are you okay? I can get you something cold for your private. It'll help ease the pain."

Aloine shook her head 'no'. Emma tilted her head and frowned. Aloine's left cheek was red.

"Did he hit you? Jeez, their not suppose to do that. Here, lemme see."

Aloine recoiled from the unknown woman's touch. Emma shook her head.

"I won't hurt you. You must be wondering where you are, huh? I'm not exactly sure myself. I was brought here a long time ago. I understand why you're like this, though. That was Spike who took you in the room, wasn't it? Almost everyone here has had to deal with him."

Several scattered agreements came from behind the girl. One of the blond girls poked her head up from what she was doing.

"Spike was your first time? Poor honey. I think it's been a while since he nabbed a virgin for himself. I'm sorry he was the one to break you in. He's one sadistic son of bitch."

The some of the girls nodded. It seemed Spike was a regular guest. Aloine felt sick. How could they be so nonchalant about him? Spike tried to rape her even though he knew he belonged to Rokian. Aloine secretly was thankful she had chosen to mate with Rokian when she did, otherwise her first time would have been with Spike. She shuttered. Her Rokian. She wondered if he was alright. Emma held out her hand and smiled sadly at Aloine.

"It's okay. C'mon. I'll introduce you to the other girls. Don't worry. We'll look after you."

Aloine followed Emma to a large mirror on the far wall, where many of the girls stood. A small Japanese girl noticed them in the mirror and turned to greet them. She frowned.

"New girl, huh. Poor thing, it looks like he beat her up. Are you okay?"

Aloine nodded. The girl had an accent behind her voice. English wasn't her first language.

"That's good. I'm Miku. I'm so sorry this had to happen to you...uh.."

"...Aloine."

"Aloine...that's a very pretty name. Wow, you have cool eyes! What country are you from?!"

Aloine smiled weakly. Country? What was this girl taking about? Aloine's stomach retched, it was still tender. Miku held her hand to Aloine's cheek, causing her to jump.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just making sure nothing was broken. It's okay, I won't hurt you. I was going to school to be a doctor when I was taken."

Aloine reluctantly allowed her to examine her cheek. Miku let out a relieved sigh. She was just bruised; nothing broken. A shriek from behind a curtain startled Aloine. The three girls peaked out from behind the curtain. Miku cupped her mouth with her hands.

"Oh, no. Amber."

The curtain overlooked the 'club'. One of the Yautja had grabbed a hold of one of the platform girls. The girl fought as he dragged her down into the crowd and was led by the large breasted lady to the 'rooms'.

"No, please! Not again!!", Amber shouted.

Aloine took a step forward.

_"Stop! Let her go!"_

She moved forward to jump down when Miku and Emma grabbed her, pulling her back behind the curtain.

"I wouldn't do that."

Miku flashed a look of shock.

"Di...did you just speak in their dialect?"

Aloine ignored Miku's comment and glanced back at the curtain.

"Why are you just standing there? One of your comrades is being attacked."

Emma shook her head, sadly.

"There's nothing we can do. That's how it works..."

Emma peeked through the curtain with the girls again, watching a girl with darker skin replace Amber.

"You see, while you're up there, if you get too close to the sides, and one of them grabs you, they get you for cheap. If more than one grabs you at the same time..."

Emma quietened down. A red head piped up.

"It's fucking hell. I'd rather die than go through that nightmare again."

Miku pulled Aloine away from the curtain.

"If you refuse, you're dead. It's just that simple."

Aloine started to shiver. This world was not the one she remembered. The red head pulled her hair into a pony tail.

" It doesn't matter either way. If they see you and want you, they pay our 'owner' to have you for a couple hours."

Aloine looked at the girls, horrified. The blond stood, pulling a strand of her hair out of her face.

"It's okay, though they're not all bad. Some of the _Yautja_ are sweet. One girl a couple years back was bought by one of them. She snuck back over here a while ago. It seemed to take care of her; she was clean, looked happy and had hella jewelery. But that is a one and a million shot. Those things out there just want you for a fling because you don't 'belong' to anyone."

Aloine clamped her eyes shut and stamped her foot.

"But...I DO belong to someone! I do. _I belong to Rokian!_"

Miku and Emma looked at each other, then Aloine. Miku rubbed her chin.

"Aloine..How is it possible that you speak their language?"

"...And what do you mean by you belonging to someone?"

Aloine stared at them, blankly. Emma was confused. It took Emma three years to completely understand the Yautja language, yet she was unable to speak it. Her vocal cords couldn't go that high and low. How was it possible this girl could speak it, without even realizing it? Aloine shifted in her stance.

"Rokian..I..I just want my Rokian. I want to go home."

The red head shook her head.

"You still don't get it, do you? You're in a whore house. One you're in for life. There is no escaping. Believe me, girls have tried."

Miku snapped at the red head.

"Leave her alone, May! No one was this inconsiderate to you after you showed up here!"

The tall woman from before returned to the room. She looked down her nose at the girls. She pointed at Aloine.

"Her. She goes to the doctors tonight to get checked out, Masters orders. Emma, make it happen."

Emma tilted her head.

"But, I thought the Doctor had gone on a mission?"

The dark haired woman flipped her hair.

"We'll he's back now. Get her to him before closing. I want her out on the stage tonight."

Miku put her hand on Aloine's shoulder.

"B..but she just got here. She doesn't know.."

"She'll learn!"

With that, the woman left. Miku scoffed.

"God, Milena's such a bitch."

Aloine stared at the door, confused.

"W..why isn't she out there too?"

May shrugged.

"I think she's too old; she's like in her thirties. Either that or our 'master' just likes screwing her. Either way, yeah, she's a bitch."

Emma took Aloine by the hand, leading her to another door by the large mirror.

"Here. I'll take you to the doctor. Don't worry, he's not like those ones out there. He can speak all types of languages. He's real nice, too."

Emma led Aloine through the sliding door. They walked down the narrow hallway to the second last door on the left. Emma rapped on the door.

_"You may enter."_

Emma led Aloine in the office as the door opened. Aloine turned to the door as Emma disappeared behind it. She gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, go."

Aloine stood facing the door. She heard the older Yautja clear his throat. She turned her head. The large male had his back to her, arranging things on a metal tray. He lifted his hand without turning, beckoning her.

"Come on in, young Lady. Have a seat."

Aloine did what he asked.

"I am glad I was able to come back when I did. I didn't know there was another girl here. Do not worry, I..."

The Doctor turned to face her, only to drop the metal plate. Aloine's eyes widened.

"Miss Aloine?!"

"Da..Doctor Lowe?!!"

Doctor Lowe stared at Aloine, dumbfounded. He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to regain his composure..

"Young Lady, why are you here?"

Aloine placed her hands together.

"Me?! What are _YOU doing here_?! Don't tell me_ you use those females _too!"

Doctor Lowe waved his hands before her.

"It isn't what you think! I'm here to help the human girls, not hurt them. It was the only way to study them without actually taking them from their planet."

Aloine stared at him totally confused. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she didn't make the connection between her and the other human girls.

"W-What? Study? What are you _talking about_? Doctor Lowe, What_ happened to_ Rokian? Spike said he was _arrested_? Why? _Why _would they arrest him?"

Lowe placed two fingers over her mouth. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised about. Aloine being at a flesh market or the fact she was tyeing his and her language together. She was learning their language so quickly. It made him glow in great achievement. His eyes widened. Aloine's eyes looked so hurt.

"Wait, did you say Spike? He is the one who brought you here?...I see. Aloine, I fear Rokian was arrested for transferring _Pyode Amedha _for the use of sexAloine...Spike hasn't.."

Aloine shot to her feet.

"No, he didn't touch me. _But I don't care about Spike_. Rokian wouldn't! He'd _never transfer soft meat..._!"

Lowe couldn't help but notice the irony in her statement. Lowe wasn't stupid, he was the greatest Scientist on the planet when it came to the human. Her smell and demeanor had changed drastically. She didn't have much of her own scent left. Rokian had made her his mate. Aloine fell to her knees, sobbing.

"Please, _please help Rokian_! He hasn't _done what they _claimed! Take me to him, please!"

The doctor sighed heavily. He couldn't take Aloine out of the 'club' without anyone noticing. There was only one way out and it was watched by two large female guards to make sure no one walked out with the girls. He rubbed his tired eyes. The only reason he took the job was to learn more about humans. He never thought he'd end up caring for the girls. It always pained him to see the girls walk through the door battered and sobbing. He worried for them when he was assigned to go on the mission to Earth, though it seemed his worries were unfounded for the most part. They were okay phiscally, yet mentally they were torn apart. He didn't want Aloine to end up like Emma. She bottled her emotions, pretending what happened to her didn't happen. Lowe sighed and patted Aloine head.

"I...I'm afraid I can't take you with me..."

Aloine's color drained from her face.

"...But, I will get to Rokian...I will. I'll buy you some time. I'll tell Raut you are sick and need time to rest. That should buy me a day or so. Raut doesn't use sick girls on the stages."

Aloine wiped a tear from her eye.

"How are you going to get to him? I thought _he was imprisoned_."

Lowe raised a finger and clicked happily.

"Ah, you see, I am one of the planets top scientists! I can gain access to almost anywhere. I will lie and tell the guards I wish to do research on a flesh peddler. I'll get you out of here, okay? Now, go back to the girls room. I will help you, Aloine. I promise. After all, You are my greatest achievement. I can't let you go to waste here."

Unsure as to what that last part meant, Aloine nodded in agreement.

"Lowe, please...please don't let them hurt Rokian.."

-------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- -------------

Rokian leaned the back of his head against the cold metal of his cell. All he could think about was his Lovely. If she wasn't in the bathroom when the guard checked, where was she? He covered his face with his hands. His chest ached with the thought of what could have happened to her. He raised his head from his hands. Jovy. She must have snagged Lovely while she was showering. He dug his claws into his leg. What if Jovy killed Lovely?! Or worse; handed her over to Spike?! A sick wave hit his stomach. He tried to force out horrid thoughts and images of Spike hurting his mate. He stood and paced back and forth in the cell. Once again, he failed to protect his Lovely. He hissed and punched against the steel walls.

_"I swear to the black warrior if anyone has hurt you, Lovely, I will murder them! I don't care about the repercussions! Please, someone! Let me know she's okay."_

Rokian fell to his knees. He felt so helpless sitting in the small room. He bowed his head and placed his hand across his chest.

"...Lovely."


	18. we all fall down

**AUTHORS NOTE: thanks for all the kind words. I'm trying my best to get this fan fic finished and the way I want it to go. Sorry it's taking longer than I originally planned, but it's gotten so deep into story, but taking an easy way out of the story is lame. Thanks for sticking with me. Also, if you don't know, a kitchen island is the table that is in the middle of the kitchen..mostly in apartments..**

_"What the hell do you mean she can't go out tonight?"_

Raut sat back in his chair. Doctor Lowe tapped his cane with his claw.

_"You asked me to check out your new girl and in my opinion, she's ill. Why not put her to work cleaning or some other minimal task. If you put her out too soon, she'll collapse."_

Raut folded his arms and scoffed.

_"You have any idea how much I paid for that ooman? I can't keep her in the back for days! I'm trying to make a profit here."_

Lowe became nervous. He shifted in his stance, slightly. If he couldn't convince Raut to let Miss Aloine alone, there was no telling what would happen to her.

_"Look, you asked for my professional opinion on whether or not she was healthy enough to work and I say she's not! At least not now. You are about to close for the night anyways. What kind of a profit would she be if dies from exhaustion? Do you think any comrade will want her if she looks sickly?"_

Raut thought for a moment, then nodded. He stood and extended his hand to the Doctor.

_"Very well, Lowe. Thank you for arriving on such short notice. Will you be staying long this time or are you off with another hunt?"_

Lowe shook Raut's hand, smiling.

_"No, no. I won't be attending another hunt for several months. I do, however, need to take my leave. I have a very important matter at the Master Elder council. Good day, Raut."_

The doctor turned and left the room just as Milena entered. Raut stared thoughtfully at the door. After a minute, he motioned Milena to approach him.

_"I don't care what the doctor says. She looked fine to me. Tell the other girls to clean and prepare her. She goes out first thing tomorrow."_

--------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------- --------------

Aloine stood by the mirror, staring at the other girls. The music had died down and the girls where cleaning up. The one Miku called, 'Amber' entered the room with her head down, not making eye contact with anyone. Aloine felt pity for the girl. From what she could see, it looked like Amber had been crying. The girl reached for a white towel on a shelf above the large mirror, before hurrying down a set of stairs behind one of the curtains. Aloine rubbed her stomach; it still hurt terribly from Spike's blow. She stopped rubbing when a fearful though traced through her mind. What if she had become pregnant from Rokian, but Spike killed their baby when he hurt her? She clenched her stomach with both hands. She felt sick suddenly; a wave of nausea hit her senses. Aloine slid along the wall until she sat on the floor. Surprisingly, she was unsure how to feel. There was no proof she was pregnant or not. She didn't feel any different. She held her stomach, and rocked from side to side. Emma entered the room and approached Aloine; smiling cheerfully.

"Would you like to take a bath? This place has a groovy underground hot spring. C'mon, it's just down those stairs."

Emma took Aloine's arm and led her down the long stairway.

"What did you think of the doc? Nice guy, huh. I was told that you'll be starting tomorrow, so.."

Aloine yanked her hand from the girls grip.

"What? No! Lowe said...That I wouldn't have to go out. _I don't understand. He promised._"

Emma stared up at the girl, frowning. Aloine would eventually have to start working whether or not she wanted to. The two girls stood silently while other girls passed them. Emma rubbed her arms, then turned toward the bottom of the stairs.

"I know you don't want to...but, you have no choice. If you refuse to work, Raut will beat you until you agree. If you don't...he..he won't stop..."

Emma turned to her with tears on the brim her eyes.

"Please..just do what they say! I-I don't want to see you get b-beaten to death...l-like my..s-sister! Please! Just...just do what he wants...please."

Aloine felt a knot in her throat build. Voices grew louder as two girls chatted on the way down the stairs, growing closer to Aloine and Emma. Emma controlled her breathing and wiped her eyes. She regained her composure quickly. As the girls passed them, Emma forced a smile as they walked by. Aloine tilted her head; So that was it; Emma was putting up a front for the sake of the other females. She came off as strong around the others, but alone she was as vulnerable as a child. It was brave for her to do. A few more tears slipped from Emma's eyes. Aloine did the only thing she knew how to comfort her. Aloine patted Emma's head and smiled, the way Doctor Lowe did. Emma stared at her for a moment, then smiled weakly. She took Aloine's hand into her own.

"You...you are such an odd one."

They reached the bottom and through another dark blue curtain into a dim, rocky room. The air was thick and warm from the hot water pouring from the rocks into the middle of the room. Most of the girls were already in the water. Emma began to remove the corset and panties she was wearing as she made her way to the bath. She turned to Aloine as she entered the water. Emma waved her hand to her.

"C'mon. The waters great. What's wrong?"

Aloine stood with her arms across her chest. Miku swam toward Emma, eying Aloine.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have anything we haven't seen."

Aloine walked to the edge of the rock, staring down at the girls. She nodded and walked into the water, clothes and all. Miku and Emma giggled.

"You can't take a bath in your clothes, you silly thing!"

Aloine stared down at her stomach. Miku tilted her head.

"What's wrong? We're not gonna hurt you. It's okay!"

_"_Have you been pregnant before?_ From them?"_ Aloine asked suddenly. A roar of laughter rang from behind the three girls. May backpedaled to them.

"That's cute. Did Spike finish in you? Don't worry. We're two different species; you're not gonna get pregnant."

Aloine sat back against the rock. Rokian told her she was a half breed from Yautja and another species, yet he never said what species. Looking at these females made it obvious, she must have been from their species. May was wrong! She was a Yautja and whatever they were! She could have Rokian's babies. May was wrong; she had to be!

Aloine dunked herself under the water and after a minute, she came back up with her clothes in her hands. She pushed the soaked clothing on a dry rock behind her. Emma and Miku's eyes grew large. Miku pointed to Aloine's chest.

"He..hey...Isn't that suppose to be..?"

Emma approached Aloine and leaned forward, staring at the familiar mark. The two girls stared blankly at Aloine. Emma's bottom lip quivered.

"I don't believe it...You...you do belong to someone!"

-------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------- --------------

Rokian sat back on his heels, watching the timid ooman standing on the balcony. The ooman looked about and shifted in his stance. Rokian scanned the creature and contents of the balcony. A cold shiver ran down his spine. There was no doubt about it; The pile of metal was, indeed, Lovely's armor. The scanner failed to find a tracker or self detonator. Rokian growled from beneath his mask. It seemed he was still several steps behind her. He removed his mask to sniff the air. It seemed moot. The rain was heavy and cold, making it hard for him to concentrate. He shook his head to clear it.

_"No, no! You have to concentrate. You have to find her!", _ Rokian stood, tipping his head back, trying to locate her scent, but instead came across another familiar scent. His head snapped forward, angerly. His mandibles flared as he cried out in rage. _Spike! _He had her! Her scent was nearly lost in the midst of Spike's. Rokian replaced his mask and jumped onto the edge of the roof. He had to collect her armor; the oomans had no right to have it!

Rokian activated the invisibility cloak and jumped from his place to the same roof as the balcony. Before Rokian could jump on the figiting ooman, something caught the oomans attention inside of the building. He shook out his umbrella as he entered through the sliding glass door. Rokian jumped onto the balcony and peered passed the glass. The younger ooman was chatting with two men dressed in black. Rokian used this chance to scoop up the broken armor into a net used to catch fast prey. He felt his stomach sink as his fingers traced along a claw mark on an arm piece. Ooman voices became louder; the younger ooman was bringing the black clad oomans out on the balcony. Rokian grabbed the final piece of armor, swung the net over his shoulder and dug his claws into the stone building as he made his way to the roof tops.

------------------------------ --------------------------------------- -------------------------------------

The Rookie cop rubbed the back of his head at the sight of the two men in black. They had identified themselves as members of the FBI. They asked to see the metal pieces. The rookie shrugged.

"Well, it's outside. The tarp we had over it got blown away by the wind. Sorry, We would have moved them ourselves, but we couldn't. You wouldn't believe how heavy just one piece is."

One of the men pipped up.

"Just show us them to us. We didn't come all this way to chat with a rookie."

The young cop cursed them under his breath as he slid the glass door open.

"Their over here in the corner. I'm telling you, ya can't move 'em. Ther..."

The rookie's jaw dropped. The two men looked around the balcony. The taller one shook his head.

"Well? Where the hell is it?!"

The rookie frantically looked over the side of the balcony. It wasn't possible!! No one could carry the metal pieces let alone tossing them over the side!

"I..I don't know! They were here a second ago, I SWEAR!"

As the taller man chewed out the young cop, the other mans attention moved to odd holes dug into the stone wall. He traced the circles with his fingers. Tiny pebbles fell from the holes. They were recently made. He followed the holes with his eyes to the roof. He turned his head and whistled at his partner. The taller man glared at the rookie as he walked to his partner. The young cop flipped them off as they had their back to him. They faced the wall, quietly exchanging words. They suddenly turned and walked off the balcony, back into the library leaving the rookie standing in the rain, dumbfounded.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ------

Amanda fell off the couch and scooted backwards into the adjoining kitchen, screaming into her hands. 'Spike', as Aloine called him, stood in an intimidating stance before the gapping hole. An odd clicking noise came from behind the mans mask. He tilted his head, then laughed coldly. He scanned Aloine, who wasn't in the best shape. She was weakened by her sudden illness, making her slightly wobbly. Spike folded him arms across his broad chest.

"Did you think I'd just leave you alone, Lovely?"

Aloine's hands balled into a fist.

"I told you...never call me that!"

Spike smiled from beneath his mask as he approached her. He could tell by Lovely's stature that she wouldn't give much of a fight. Not in her condition. Lovely raised her fists, still in a drowsy state. Spike Launched forward ramming Aloine against a wall. He held her in place as she fought against his stone grasp. Amanda felt hot tears stream freely down her cheeks. What could she do? Spike was going to hurt Aloine. She reached up blindly behind her, frantically feeling for something, anything to get him away from Aloine. Her finger traced along a handle.

Spike ran his finger down Lovely's cheek. She was cold, yet sweating. He chuckled at the predicament. He reached behind him, pulling out a thin, sharp knife.

_"So, Do you see now? Your precious Rokian lied to you. He has since the beginning. He stole you from this planet for his own selfish desires. How does it feel to know you were just a toy?"_

Aloine let out a agonizing scream. Spike stabbed her through her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. The ooman girl screamed bloody murder. Lovely looked up passed Spike with a horrified look on her face. Spike turned to be greeted with a sharp metal object into his side. Spike growled in pain, smacking Amanda to the floor. Amanda watched in horror as the monster reached for the handle of the knife, pulling it out in one swift tug. The knife dripped bright green blood. Amanda froze; He was dead locked on her. Aloine frantically pulled at the machete like object rammed into her shoulder. It wouldn't budge.

_"Spike, No!! Leave her alone!!"_

Spike dropped the knife and began to walk to Amanda. Amanda rose to her feet, only to stumble back onto a side table. Spike grabbed her by the throat, pulling her closer to him. Spike was silently amused by the feeling the the oomans rapidly beating heart pulsate against his hand.

"Aren't you a bold one, attacking someone twice your size.", He gave her a quick once over. "You are a pretty young ooman. I think I could get a nice amount of money for you."

Amanda could only let out a small squeak for a reply. Aloine reached her hand out. It was darkened a red by the bloodied handle of the weapon in her shoulder. Her vision was becoming blurry and dark.

"S-Spike...don't...not her.."

Spike chuckled as he pulled his mask off. Amanda's eyes shot open; she began fighting back much harder. He was a monster!! He pulled the fighting girl to his chest, pulling her to the gapping hole.

_"Don't worry, _Lovely_. I'll take good care of her."_

Panic ringed in Aloine's ears. She had to help Amanda ooman! If he got her outside, there was no way she could track him. Instead of pulling the blade off of her, Aloine realized there was only one other option. She took a deep breath and pushed herself into the blade, toward the handle.

Amanda kicked at his legs and sunk her teeth into his arm. Spike growled in anger and tightened his grip on her to the point of pain. A blade popped out of the gauntlet the monster wore on it's right arm. He held it in front of Amanda's face, toying with the idea of cutting the young girl. He turned his head to Aloine, only to freeze. The blade was still stuck in the wall dripping with blood, yet no Lovely. He stood, examining the room. His mandibles flared.

_"Where are you, you little bitch?!!" _

He threw Amanda to the floor. He approached the bloodied spike embedded in the wall. The sound of someone pounding on the front door broke the silence of the room. An older male's voice seeped from the other side of the door.

"Conda? Dis is da buildin' supavisa! What was dat noise, yous got your TV up too loud? Open up!"

Tired of all the distractions, Spike stomped to the front door, willing to kill anything behind it. As he reached for the handle of the door, he felt an excruciating stab on the top of his foot. He gazed down in rage to see Aloine staring back up at him; both of her hands were around the handle of the oomans knife implanted into his foot. Spike howled in pain loudly. Outside, the supervisor backed up from the door from the thunderous roar coming from the other side of the door. A small group of neighbors slowly gathered in the hallway, unsure what to make of all the ruckus. Spike kicked Aloine's shoulder. She fell against her back, holding her bloody shoulder. He snatched the knife off his foot, then grabbed Lovely by the hair.

_"You sneaky little slut! You won't get a second shot at that."_

Lightning filled the night sky as he grazed the knife against Lovely's skin. Spike's smile suddenly turned into a frown. He turned his head to the hole in the wall, sniffing the air. Lovely knew why. Rokian. He was nearby. They could both smell him. Spike yanked Aloine to her feet and dragged her into the living room. He pulled his weapon from the wall and hooked it on his belt. Amanda, terrified to move, was still in the same spot Spike left her. The ooman girl's face was alarmed and fearful as he reached down to retrieve his mask from the floor. Aloine was pathetically fighting back. But, with the combination of being sick and the loss of blood, she was barely conscience and missing most of her attacks. Spike scooped her up over his shoulder. He replaced his mask, and jumped through the hole in the living room. Amanda jumped to her feet and ran to the hole. Nothing. She heard a loud noise above her and looked up. Spike was scaling the wall with Aloine over his shoulder. Amanda shouted to Aloine with no answer.

Amanda turned and ran toward the door, scooping up the bloodied knife. They were heading to the roof. She opened the door and ran into the chest of the building supervisor. Without a thought, she pushed away from him, heading down the hallway. The supervisor peeked into the room and lost it.

"What da hell!! Hey yous! Who's gonna be paying fur dis?!! HEY!!"

Amanda pushed through the people gathered in the hallway and into the stairway. She groaned as she climbed the stairs. It was a long way up to the roof. After a couple flights, Amanda's legs began to burn and her lungs seared in pain. She tucked the knife under her sweater.

"I should...have used..the elevator...dammit!!"

As she pushed herself to keep running up the stairs. She had to help Aloine. Another couple stairs, she felt a small vibration against her stomach; it was her cell phone.

"I swear to God, Michelle..."

She pulled it out as she continued up the stairs. She felt tears weld up in her eyes at seeing the name on the caller I.D. 'Papa'. She pushed herself through the roof door as she answered it. Her voice was thin and came in breaths.

"DAD! He took...her. A monster..took..Aloine! Help, dad...please!!"

Conders voice came in through the crackled reception. Amanda plugged her other ear with her finger to hear.

"Ama...?! Whe...re you?! Shirley said you...Aloine left th...hospital! Where are you?! Amanda?! Who took Aloine?!"

Amanda ran to one side of the roof top to the other. She didn't see either Aloine or Spike.

"Some thing broke into the apartment and took Aloine! He stabbed her, I think she's dying, dad. She was bleeding...all over! Please hurry!!"

"You're at th...apartment? Okay, DON'T move! I'll be..there! Don't move."

Amanda hung up and turned toward the roof door only to be knocked off her feet. She coughed and pulled herself on her knees quickly looking to see what had hit her. She didn't see anyone...at first. Something WAS there; she could see something reflect in the rain and dim light. She stood slowly, facing the unsure thing. Suddenly, the odd reflect faded, revealing Spike!!...no...no, not Spike. This one wasn't injured. The creature glared at her from behind his coal colored mask. He was so distracted by tracking Lovely, he didn't notice the small ooman and ran right into her. Amanda felt her breath catch in her throat. What was this one going to do? Surprisingly, he did nothing. He turned away from her; Amanda's eyes caught a familiar mark on his chest in the dim light. The same mark as Aloine. Aloine said something about the mark...what was it? What did it mean again?...her..mate? He started to run toward the edge of the roof. Without any thought, Amanda opened her mouth and shouted.

"Rokian!"

The creature stopped in his tracks and whirled around to face her. Amanda immediately tensed up. She wasn't expecting him to actually react. He slowly approached her.

"You...your..Rokian...aren't you?...Aloine's...Aloine's m-mate?.."

He stood, silently. Amanda reached for her key necklace. She was amazed by how much she was shaking. She pulled the key and gem out from under her sweater and held it before him. Rokian could smell a faint scent of blood on her; both ooman and Yautja.

"Aloine...g-gave this..to me.. Please...I, uh, I want you t-to take me with you. If anything happens to her, I'll..."

Rokian glanced around. They were wasting time with her rambling. Without another word, the large monster grabbed Amanda's upper arm and picked her up and pulled her behind him. He placed her in a piggy back position and walked to the edge of the roof.

"Hold...on..."

Amanda tightened her grip around his neck and buried her head in behind his head. Rokian jumped from roof top to roof top. He heard the ooman squeal quietly as he ran. Rokian was unsure as to why he was so willing to take the ooman girl along. It seemed this ooman girl took care of his Lovely, that is until Spike came into the picture. Perhaps that was why he took her; as a way to repay her. He stopped on one rooftops. There was several green bloodied footprints along the floor. Spike was injured.

_"Good"_, he thought. _"I hope the pain is excruciating."_

The foot steps was a practical road map leading to Spike and Lovely. As The smell of blood became more dominant, Roikans heart began to pound in his ear. Lovely's blood was thick in the air. He was close.

_"Hold on, Lovely! I'm close, so close!! Please, Lovely Hold on!!"_

_------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- _

The two guards scratched their heads and exchanged looks.

_"Doctor Lowe? Why do you want to talk to a flesh peddler?"_

Doctor Lowe smiled and scratched his neck.

_"Well, you see perhaps if I can figure out why they do it, I may be able to stop the smuggling. I won't be long."_

The two guards stepped away from the door as it hissed open.

_"The prisoner is in the last cell."_

Doctor Lowe nodded at the guards as he passed them. The door closed behind the doctor as he slowly made his way down the long hallway. He ignored the other deserving to be there until he made it to the very last cell. What he saw saddened him. Rokian had his back to the front of the cell. He was sitting on his legs with his head down; his hands were balled up into fists. The doctor cleared his throat. Rokian's head lifted, then slowly turned. His jaw dropped.

_"Doctor Lowe!"_

The young warrior stood and approached him.

_"Doc! Is Lovely okay?! I don't know where she is! Please! Tell me you know where she is!"_

Lowe raised his claw and glanced around to make sure not guards were near.

_"I must apologize to you, Rokian. I'm afraid I've lied to you..."_

Rokian's heart sank. What did he mean? Was he the one responsible? Doctor Lowe tapped his cane with his finger.

_"...When I told you I've never examined a human, I lied. In fact, there is a reason why I knew Miss Aloine's anatomy as well as I did...Aloine's alive. She's safe for now."_

Rokian felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. His lovely was safe. Rokian eyed the Doctor. He had a somber look across his face.

_"Lowe, what is it?"_

_"She is safe, but she was taken by Spike and sold to a flesh market."_


	19. I don't belong to you

AUTHORS NOTE: one of my friends read this and told me that the songs, 'drops of Jupiter' and "tell me where it hurts" reminds her of my story. It's interesting. :3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rokian felt his insides twist as he fell to his knees.

_"I..I don't understand...How do you know this?!"_

Lowe squatted down in front of him.

_"Forgive me, Rokian. I've been a Doctor to the women in the flesh markets; I have been for years. I came across Aloine by..."_

Rokians head snapped up.

_"You knew this could happen but you didn't warn me! Why? You knew the flesh markets were real?!"_

Lowe stood and backed away from the cell. The horrified look plastered across Rokian's face shamed him.

_"I am sorry, but you need to relax. Getting all worked up isn't going to help Miss _Aloine_. I will get her out before anything happens to her."_

Rokian gripped the bars of the cell.

_"What is his name? The comrade who bought _Lovely_. Who is he?! I'll kill him!"_

Lowe shook his head. Rokian was losing control of his emotions. If he was going to convince the Master Elder of no wrong doing, he had to calm down. At this point, he was surprised Rokian hadn't ripped the bars from their place. He raised his hand, waving back it up and down.

_"Settle down. Look, your trial is in a day or so. Many of the comrades that go to the market will be at your trial instead. It will be slow, I'll be able to get her out. I know it's a hard thing to accept, but you need to trust me."_

Rokian released the bars and walked to the back of the cell. He inhaled and held his breath before nodding in agreement. He had no other choice but to trust the doctor. Rokian glared out the tiny rectangle window of his cell. He turned his head back to Lowe.

_"Please, Lowe. Promise me they won't hurt her."_

Lowe nodded, then turned to the exit.

_"I'll do what I can."_

Rokian turned and leaned against the cold, metal bars. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. It proved useless. His mind was far too chaotic to relax. He rested his head back on the bars. He wondered how okay Lovely actually was. Lowe said she was part of the flesh market. It made him cringe. It wasn't odd for his kind to have multiple mates; some preferred it. But, the thought of someone touching her, embracing her, mating with her enraged him to a dangerous level. If he wasn't so sure he'd be killed on the spot, he would try to escape. He was no use to her dead.

Rokian heard approaching foot steps. It must have been the doctor. Had Lowe forgotten to tell him something?

_"Did you forget something, Lowe?"_

There was a silence before a feminine voice clicked back.

_"So that was Doctor Lowe I saw leaving here."_

Rokian immediately recognized the voice. In one swift move, he jumped to his feet, reaching his claw through the bars; his mandible flared as he released a threatening growl.

_"How dare you show your face to me, you deceiving bitch!"_

Jovi stood just out of striking range. She had her hands folded and tsk'ed. Rokian reached as far as he could. If he could had chock her, he would have. Jovi shook her head, sadly.

_"Rokian, please don't be angry with me. It was for your own good. This way you can start off new. You can find someone your own kind to..."_

Rokian gripped the bars and squeezed hard. As angry as he was, he had to keep it check. He did not want to accidentally set off his kill gland...at least, not yet.

_"I don't WANT any of my own kind. That is why I chose her! None of the others interest me; she DID. Who the hell gave you the authority to take MY MATE?!"_

_"Mate? Mate!! She is no mate! I am a mate! I was around you longer than her! Why should you care? She's fine! The little whore is with her own kind, now. If you kept her, it would look bad for..."_

Jovi was cut off by Rokian's laughter. His expression grew dark.

_"You wished to be my mate? Heh. I'd rather drink the bile of a xenomorph. You should consider yourself lucky that I am in here. If it wasn't for these bars, there would be nothing left of you. Leave my sight. I want nothing more to do with you. Pray that this is our last encounter."_

Rokian's fist began to bleed from the forceful grip on the cell bars. Jovi stared at the steady stream of green liquid ooze down. She shook her head, sadly.

_"Rokian, I hope someday you'll understand why I did this. It's for the best."_

As she turned to leave, Rokian reached and latched his fist around one of her locks and squeezed. Jovi yelped. A Yautja's locks are extremely sensitive to the touch. Touch can either be pleasurable or painful and in Jovi's case, it was excruciating. Rokian yanked her lock until she fell backwards against the cell. He wrapped his free hand around her neck. Jovi's breath caught in her throat. Was he really going to kill her? Over a fucking ooman?! Rokian kept a firm grasp on Jovi's lock as she squirmed and growled in pain.

_"You want me to be the way I was, Jovi? You want me to kill you here and now? Would that make you happy? Huh?" _

He pushed his head against hers. Jovi tried to speak, but the only noise she could make was a pathetic range of clicks. He inhaled sharply before simply stating:

_"You're not worth it."_

With that he released Jovi. She scrambled back, forcing herself to stand in the process. One of the guards rushed down the hallway.

_"What is going on here? Are you alright?"_

Jovi nursed her lock, her eyes fixated on Rokians dark stare. She cleared her throat before walking away with the guard, defeated.

------------------------------ --------------------------------- -------------------------- -------------------

Raut spit the wine he was drinking across the floor. Emma stood before him, holding up the loose shirt Aloine was wearing, revealing an all familiar tattoo. Raut wiped his mouth and threw the glass to the floor. He stood and approached the girl.

_"How could Lowe miss this?!! This is ridiculous! Virgin, my ass!"_

Milena glanced at the tattoo, then Raut.

"Why are you so upset by an ownership tattoo? It can be covered by make up."

Raut reached for another wine glass and snapped his fingers for more wine.

_"It's not an ownership tattoo! It's an engagement tattoo."_

He took a swig of the wine and wiped his bottom lip.

"I still don't see the problem. We've had a girl before who..."

He pointed his thin finger at Aloine's chest.

_"That line stroke and two dots on the top of the tattoo is the god damn problem! If I'm caught with her, I'll be murdered for sure."_

Emma looked at the top of the tattoo. It did look vaguely familiar. Aloine pulled her shirt down and stared at the floor. Raut stood and approached Aloine. Milena followed behind him.

" I don't understand. Why is that tiny mark so important?"

Raut shook his head.

_"The line and two dots on the top is a symbol of the Master Elder. Whoever owned her before is either the mate or an offspring of the master Elder herself."_

Emma felt her heart twist. Spike was a bold one; taking the property of a powerful Yautja. Milena rested her chin in her hand. Aloine's eyes widened momentarily. Rokian never told her who he really was. She was under the impression he was just a great hunter.

"So, what do we do? Should we release her?"

Raut let out a deep laugh.

_"Are you fucking serious? I paid too much for her to just walk out the god damn door. No, cover it in make up. No one will notice. They won't be staring at her that close."_

Aloine's eye brows lowered. She balled her hands in a fist. Emma noticed her actions and silently tried to tell her not to speak. Aloine ignored Emma. She slammed her foot down.

"You know who I belong to, yet _you keep me_ here? _If Rokian finds out you..._"

Raut's hand snaked out and across her face. Aloine's hands rushed to her cheek. Emma looked away. Raut folded his arms.

_"Rokian, huh. The Master Elder's only son, third born. Then I have nothing to fear. Your 'Master' is in a cell awaiting a trial that will most certainly bring his death."_

Aloine glared up at the horrid Yautja.

"W-what do you mean?!"

_"Flesh Peddling is a serious offense. Even with his blood line, it may be hard to extinguish the charges. I never thought that one of the Master Elder's offspring would try such a thing."_

"He...he wouldn't. He never.."

Raut snickered, realizing something about the tattoo.

_"Your little tattoo. It seems to be missing an important mark."_

Raut walked back to his chair.

_"It's missing one last mark. The Master Elders mark; her approval. Funny, somehow I doubt you'll get it."_

Emma glanced at Aloine. Her cheek was reddened, but her face still had a look of scorn and determination. That was why she acted the way she did. She belonged to someone high on the ranking of the Yautja race. She was too cocky. Raut sat back in his chair, sipping his wine and rubbing his left temple. He waved his hand to the girls.

_"I'm done with you. Get out. Milena, alert me the second that damn doctor comes back."_

Emma took Aloine by the shoulders and forcefully led her out. When they left the room, Emma turned to face her.

"I told you not to argue with him. You're lucky all he did was slap you."

Aloine jerked away from the girl's grasp.

"I don't care if I anger him! _He is not my master and never will be._ I will get out of here and I will find my Rokian. _I'm not afraid of some filthy flesh peddler!_"

Emma grabbed Aloine's head, holding it firmly. Tears spread across her eye rims as Emma pressed her forehead against the girls forehead.. Aloine glared back at the tearing girl, shocked.

"Stop it! It doesn't matter what you want. The sooner you get that through your head, the better! You want to end up dead? You keep talking like that and it'll happen."

Aloine patted Emma on the head before pulling away from her grip. Why was this girl so worried for her well being?

Emma's face softened and took Aloine's hand once more and led her into the girl's room. The room was past the dressing room behind yet another curtain. It looked like a sad orphanage scene. The beds were lined up along both walls with no windows. It was a depressing sight; even prisons have windows.

Some girls were already in bed, asleep. Miku was sitting Indian style on her bed, her back facing them. Emma tapped Miku's shoulder as she passed. They exchanged quiet hello's and continued their own business. Emma pointed to one bed next to another girl's bed.

"That one can be your bed. Their kinda lumpy, but it's better than sleeping on the floor."

Aloine sat on the bed and stared at the floor. Emma shook her head as she made her way to her own bed. Milena entered the room, glaring at the girls with a 'mightier than thou' attitude. Her eyes traced to all the girls.

"Lights out. I don't want to see or hear any of you until tomorrow."

Milena approached Aloine, folded her arms and tapped her foot.

"You are going to have to learn to stifle that tongue. Otherwise I will remove it."

Aloine's stare from the floor trailed to Milena. She narrowed her eyes to the annoying woman. She smirked.

"try it."

Milena stood in almost disbelief in her blatant insubordination. Instead of striking Aloine, however, she simply smiled and turned away.

"On second thought, Go ahead and keep the attitude. I'm sure the _Yautja_ will have fun with a mouth like yours."

She hit the lights on the way out, leaving Aloine sitting in the dark. Aloine laid backwards on the bed with her legs dangling on the other side. After a while, her eyes adjusted. It took a minute to realize that a pair of blue eyes were staring back at her. It was the girl in the bed next to her. The girl turned to her side, facing Aloine. She had an odd, twisted smile plastered across her face.

"Can I tell you something?"

Aloine nodded slightly.

"When I first got here, there was another girl working. She wanted to escape, you know like you? So she made a shank out of a makeup brush. When she was on the stage, one of the _Yautja_ grabbed her and she freaked out and stabbed him in the neck..."

The girl tapped her neck below the ear, toward the collar bone.

"Here."

Emma heard the voices and sat up in her bed.

"Sammy, shut up! Stop trying to scare her! Lay down and go to sleep."

The girl ignored Emma's warning and continued.

" I don't know what happened after that, but he went crazy. He started attacking other _Yautja _and ended up killing the girl. While that happened, lots of girls escaped."

Aloine turned onto her stomach. Emma whispered a little louder, trying to shut the creepy girl up. Sammy once again ignored Emma and closed her eyes and yawned.

"But the girls didn't make it very far."

"Sammy, shut up!"

"...Something about the air. Made it hard to breath... Most of them suffocated. Those who didn't die outside.."

Emma clenched her teeth.

"...They were brought back and beaten. Some were beaten to death..say, wasn't one of them your sister, Emma?"

Miku tossed a hard object in Sammy's direction in the dark room.

"Emma said to shut the hell up, Sammy!!"

The room became tense and dead silent after Miku's shout. After a minute, a collective sigh of relief filled the room, noting that no one must have heard the outburst. Aloine just stared as the girl turned her back to her to go to sleep. Aloine swallowed the growing knot in her throat. What the hell was that about? Emma whistled softly, gaining Aloine's attention.

"Aloine, forget everything she told you. I forgot to mention Sammy to you. She's screwed in the head..."

Sammy let out a gut laugh, pointing her finger to the ceiling, then back at her head.

"..that...is the only place I haven't been screwed, my dears. And I thought all the perverts were on Earth..."

She giggled manically under her covers before finally quieting down. Emma shook her head.

"Sammy, please! Geez. Sorry. She's a little crazy. When she starts talking, don't pay any attention to her. It doesn't help things."

After a minute, Emma and the other girls settled into their beds. Soft rhythmic breathing filled the room. Aloine laid back on the bed and buried her head in her hands.

"Rokian..."

_------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------- ------------_

Conder cursed loudly at the traffic jam he was now involved in. After hearing from his daughter, his stress had gone through the roof. He placed two fingers across his wrist, feeling his heart beat. His blood pressure must have been going through the roof. He scratched above his eyebrow and sighed. Aloine had caused more stress to him in one day than his entire career and school years combined. To make matters worse, the chief called yelling at him for leaving, claiming the FBI was there looking for him. Conder lit up another cigarette frantically looking for a place to park. Why did they want to talk to him? He knew as much about the armor as anyone else on the force. Conder glanced around. It was hopeless; He'd have to get out and run. Amanda sounded so terrified on the phone. She said Aloine was dying. He finally found a parking spot in a awkward corner mart. He stumbled out of the car and back into the rain. It was a long way to his apartment, even when running. With Conder's smokers lungs, it looked like a long stretch.

What a sight Conder was. He ran down the street with a cigarette pressed between his teeth, soaking wet and heaving like his heart was about to explode. He made it several blocks before every muscle in his body started screaming in pain and exhaustion.

"I...I really n-need to stop smo..king..."

As he reached the corner to his block, he ran into two men dressed in black. One of the darkly dressed men eyed the badge and gun. Under Conder's jacket.

"Officer Micheal Conder, I presume?"

Conder coughed and hacked, dropping his cigarette from his mouth to the floor.

"ugh...How..ugh..did you know my name?"

The tall one Flashed a badge.

"Officer Conder, I'm special agent Peter Vazquez. This is my partner, Daniel Rogers. We were wondering about the location of a suspect you acquired earlier today."

Conder continued to cough into his hand, then slowly straightened. A suspect? The only person he had dealt with all day was...Aloine

Conder spit on the ground before wiping his chin off the combination of sweat and rain.

He recalled something Amanda had said in the hospital. _ "Dad, is she going to get sent away?...if someone comes for her, will you help her?" _Amanda's words rang in his ear. It made sense. Aloine was not someone you just walked by on the streets. A girl that fell from the sky who had been missing for over thirty years. One that looked like not a day had passed since she left. Vazquez cleared his throat, tucking his hands in his coat pocket.

"Conder? Where is the suspect."

Conder shrugged.

"The only person I dealt with was a runaway. She just looked like someone who broke into the station.."

"Then where is she?"

"where's who?"

Rogers chimed in.

"Don't give us that shit! The runaway! The weird girl! The doctor at the hospital said you brought in a weird girl! Where is she?"

Vazquez raised his hand, quieting his partner.

"Perhaps we should discuss this back at the station?"

Conder pushed past the two men.

"I'm not going anywhere except home! My daughter is waiting for me at my apartment."

Vazquez eye brow raised.

"Ah, yes. Your Daughter. She was with you and the 'runaway'. Perhaps we can go with you to question her."

Conder turned on the ball of his foot, a finger in Vazquez's face.

"You are not going anywhere near my daughter! I don't know where the runaway went. I took her to get fixed up and she ran off from the hospital. Get outta the way. I'm going home and you can go to hell for all I care."

Vazquez gritted his teeth.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Conder pulled another cigarette from his pocket and pressed it between his lips.

"You don't want me to answer that."

A fire truck whizzed passed the men on the street, bring Conder's attention behind him. The truck turned the corner. Conder followed it around the corner. The cigarette fell from his lips as he whimpered out his little girls name.

"Oh god...Amanda."

Down the street, glowing from beneath the blanket of rain, was the vivid glow of a large flame. His building was on fire. He shook his head in horror.

"Amanda...AMANDA!"

He took off running at full speed toward his building with Vazquez and Rogers close behind. He felt his chest constrict against his rib cage as warm, salty tears began to flow down his cheeks. As he ran, he silently prayed in the back of his head.

_"I don't know exactly who I'm praying to. I'm not a religious man, but if you are there. Please, PLEASE, let my baby girl be okay!" _He frantically pleaded as he made his way to the crowd of people. He pushed his way through them.

"Police, Police! Get the hell out of the way!"

As he reached the front of the crowd, a fire fighter halted him.

"Sir, stay back. Pieces of the building may come down."

Conder pointed to the flame.

"I live here! My daughter was in there! Have you seen her?!"

"Sorry. Try at the ambulance over there. They might have treated her."

Conder pushed back through the crowd and into Rogers and Vazquez.

"Now, I wonder how that happened? Maybe it was the explosion we heard about earlier.."

Rogers ears darkened.

"I do hope your daughter is alright..."

He opened his mouth to shout at the two men, but just as he inhaled, he felt a small vibration against his chest. His cell phone was going off. Conder pushed past the men.

"I'm going to that ambulance. I have to see if my daughter is okay. Get the hell out of my way!"

He jogged to the ambulance and glanced over his shoulder to see if Vazquez or Rogers was watching him. To his discomfort, they were gone. He walked behind the ambulance and pulled out his cell phone. Much to his extreme relief, the caller ID blinked his daughters name.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amanda did her best to stifle the rising nausea slowly climbing up her throat. It wasn't that she had motion sickness. She had been on more fair rides then she could count, but this...THIS was a new one. She was on a very large alien guys back as he jumped from roof to roof. After a minute of jumping, she got his movement down enough to dig into her pullover to grab her cell. She had to get a hold of her dad. Wherever this thing was taking her, she didn't want to be alone with it. Amanda rolled her eyes. Well, technically, you are already alone with him. She shook her head as she tried to punch in the numbers to her dad. She tightened her grip around his throat as she held the cell phone to her ear. It rang several times before her father finally picked up.

"Amanda! Amanda, baby where are you? Are you okay?"

Amanda yelped softly as alien guy jumped to another roof, losing his balance slightly. He stopped at the edge of one of the roofs.

"Y-yes! I'm okay, but I'm not home. I'm...uh.."

She looked around. They were in the old industrial part of the city, by the ocean.

"We're at the the old warehouses. You know the ones by the gross part of the ocean."

The Alien continued to run along the warehouse tops.

"What do you mean 'we'? Whose with you?! Amanda?"

Amanda glanced down at the guy carrying her.

"I'm..with...Aloine's...husband."

There was a silence over the phone before he let out a breathless, "What?!"

As Amanda went to say another word, the Alien guy stopped suddenly at the edge of the roof. The sudden jolt flung Amanda's cell phone into the alley below. She shot him an icy look.

"Thanks."

The man pointed to a single warehouse at the water. He let out a soft growl.

"There.."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike entered the large warehouse with Lovely under his arm. He dropped her on the cold concrete floor as he sat on a wooden crate. He had to get out of the cold. Every drop of water stung his skin. He wasn't use to it. He examined the wounds in his foot and side. They weren't that bad, though they still hurt like hell. Lovely, on the other hand wasn't doing to well. He scanned her vital signs. Her heart beat was erratic. She was pale, shaking and coughing; her clothing soaked in blood. Spike growled. Why did oomans have to be so weak? At this rate, she'd die before Rokian got to them. Spike removed his first aid kit from his belt and unwrapped it. He mixed the different ingredients together on the wood crate before standing and approaching Lovely. He had to stop the bleeding. He wanted to kill Lovely in front of Rokian. It wouldn't be as satisfying if she died before he arrived. He rolled Lovely onto her back. He took a small glob of the mixture and wiped it across her shoulder wound. Her eyes shot open as she screamed in pain. The mixture sizzled as it burned her skin, cauterizing it. Spike held her down as she fought and kicked. Lovely chocked on her coughs. Spike glared at the ooman.

_"Your pain is nothing compared to what I had to go through! You sent me to prison, you made me lose all of my honor!"_

Lovely hissed between her teeth.

_"You...you had no honor..to lose..."_

Spike's eyes narrowed. He pressed his palm against her wound. Lovely cried out, clawing at his arm. The pain was so blinding, Lovely felt herself slip into unconsciousness. Spike sighed, annoyed. While she laid there, he'd have to tend to his wounds. As Spike did so, he could hear Lovely murmur in her sleep. He shook his head.

_"Pathetic."_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Aloine? Come on honey, it's time to get up. You can't sleep all day."_

_Aloine blinked her eyes open to see an older ooman man staring down at her. He was smiling. Aloine sat up. She was on a rug in the middle of a stage. A stage she knew, but was unsure as to why. The ooman held his hand out to her. She studied him before taking his hand. He pulled back to help her stand. He held her hand, smiling._

_"What's wrong, squirt? Did you forget your old man?"_

_His voice was familiar. She reached up and slid her hand across his cheek. He felt familiar. She wanted to remember him. Staring at him made her stomach ache. Tears began to roll freely down her cheeks. She covered her eyes. Why was she so upset by the presence of this man? He patted her head._

_"Now, now honey. Don't cry, come here."_

_She felt him wrap him arms around her. His strong arms and warmth comforted him. He was familiar; Why?. She felt sick as she lowered her hands around the mans waist, holding him tight...A flood of memories overwhelmed her. She knew why she knew him..._

---------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Daddy..."

Spike looked up from his wounded tending. Her eyes opened slowly before closing again, tears engulfed the rims of her eyes. He shook his head. How annoying. He finished fixing his arm just as the smell of Rokian filled the warehouse. The younger warrior was angry; Spike could sense it. He pulled himself off of the wood crate and crossed his arms.

_"I know your there, Rokian."_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Aloine released her grip her father. She looked up, only to frown. Her father disappeared from her grip. She looked around frantically. Where did he go? Why did he leave her so suddenly. She heard a door open. She turned, catching her dress under her foot and fell backwards onto her back. She turned her head toward the sound of the door. Her father was in the back of the theater, staring at her momentarily, before closing the door. Aloine reached out to her father, tears in her eyes._

_"Dad! Wait, Please!"_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Don't go.."

Aloine's eyes shot open. Her vision was blurry. Someone was holding her. Slowly, her eyes focused on Amanda. She had Aloine's head in her lap. Amanda felt Aloine stir and looked down, smiling.

"Amanda?"

Amanda placed a finger over her lips. Aloine lowered her voice.

"How did you...I...Rokian? Where's Rokian?"

Amanda removed her finger from her lips and pointed past Aloine's range of view. Aloine turned her head slowly.

"They're outside. Rokian told me to care for you while he dealt with that Spike guy."

Aloine took a deep breath, staring out the broken window of warehouse.

"Amanda..."

"Yeah?"

"I...I remember."

"Remember what?"

"I remember being human."


	20. sacrifice

Augh! I've had writers block for a bit...sorry, I'm trying! And, Thanks so very much for all the people watching and waiting...It's almost done. I think I only have about 2 or 3 chapters to finish. Sigh, I wrote this chapter three times and I'm not sure if I like the way if turned out...but I'll make up for it.

--

Aloine was awaken by someone shaking her arm. She pulled her head from under the pillow to see Emma. Her hair was wet and she was ringing it out onto the floor.

"Are you hungry? Or do you want to clean up first?"

Aloine looked around the room. It was empty except for the two girls. Aloine looked up in confusion. Emma ran her fingers through her hair and smiled.

"You sleep pretty deep, don't you? Miku tried to wake you up twice. Are you okay?"

Aloine sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her head and stomach hurt. She was hungry. She hadn't eaten since she was...on the ship. Aloine pulled herself off the bed and faced Emma.

"Where is everyone?"

Emma glanced behind her.

"Enjoying the little time we have before we have to start the day again."

A hint of sadness hid behind her words. She shrugged off her emotion, turned and gave Aloine a smile.

"Okay, let's get something to eat, okay?"

Aloine sleepily followed Emma out of the room, through the dressing room and in the main room. At this hour in the morning, the room was dim and empty. Within a couple hours, girls would be on the stages, dancing while the Yautja would pick or stare. It made Aloine's stomach turn. How could her people do such a thing to these creatures? They were no better than Spike. She shuddered again. Spike; the whole reason she was there. He took her away from Rokian and left her in this horrible place. Aloine wiped the budding tears that brimmed her eyes.

Emma shook a bread roll in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. Aloine reluctantly took the bread from Emma's hand and bit into it. It was sweet with a tangy paste in the center. Emma smiled as she took a bite out of another roll. Just as Aloine finished the roll, Milena entered the room. She flipped her hair as she pushed by two girls to approach Aloine.

"Change of plans, ladies. Because of a certain Yautja's indiscretion," Milena flashed a dim smile toward Aloine. " It is going to be very slow here today. So, we open in a half an hour to make up the costs. Get ready."

Collected depressed sighs filled the room. Aloine looked toward the only exit, shifting in her stance. Where was the doctor? She was running out of time. Milena snapped her fingers before exiting the room. The girls followed Milena into the dressing room, some sat in front of the mirrors to prep. Emma and Miku took Aloine by the arms and sat her down on a stool by one of the many mirrors. Miku clapped her hands, playfully.

"It's been so long since I've done someone's hair and make up!"

Aloine quietly sat as Miku took a soft brush and ran it across her face. Aloine noted the handle of the brush as it passed her vision. It was broken and splintering. The crazy girl the night before mentioned something about a make up handle being used as a weapon. If she was to escape, she'd need _some_ type of weapon...

Miku sat the brush down behind her on the the table and turned to Aloine, leaning in studying her eyes.

"Hmm...I wonder what color I should highlight your eyes with. Since you have brown hair and...um...different eyes...hold on. Hey, Emma!"

Miku turned toward the back room. A small voice came from behind the curtain.

"Huh? What?"

"Emma, what color should I..."

"I can't hear you!"

Miku let out a sigh and playfully hopped to the back curtain and poked her head through the curtain. Aloine glanced about the room, before focusing on the brush. One right jab into a Yautja's neck and she could find her Rokian. She turned her head toward Miku who still had her head concealed behind the dark curtain. Aloine inhaled sharply as her hand snaked forward and snatched the little brush. She quickly placed it beneath her shirt, under her left arm. She readjusted herself just as Miku returned. She smiled at her.

"Emma says blush pink..so light pink, basically."

Miku turned to grab the make up brush only to realize it disappeared. Miku shook her head in frustration.

"Dammit! It looks like my brush sprouted little legs!" She turned toward the other girls getting ready for the day. "Can't you guys ask before taking my brushes? Yeesh."

Miku snatched another brush from the table and started on Aloine's eyes.

--

Rokian stood at the sound of approaching foot prints. He was slightly nervous for his trial. The Master Elder was extremely intolerable of any of her children bringing shame to her. Two larger guards stepped in front of the cell. One bowed slightly as he opened the cell. Rokian smirked.

_"You sure you should be bowing to a prisoner?"_

The guard shook his head as they led him out of the cell.

_"You are still the Master Elders son..."_

Rokian chuckled.

_"Well...lets hope that give me some leeway in my favor."_

Rokian walked with his head up, showing no fear as they walked down the prison hallway. He was going to fight the charges. After all, they had no proof.

--

Miku stood back to view her finished work. Aloine looked like a little doll. Her hair was braided and curled in different parts of her hair. Miku put a fake blue flower in her hair to match the blue corset Emma gave her to wear.

"You look great!"

Aloine twisted the corset uncomfortably. She had a time hiding the make up brush while Emma was changing her. At one point, she hid it in her made up hair. The brush was now tucked beneath the corset, under her arm. It poked her ribs every time she turned her torso. Milena appeared in the door way and pointed at two girls and Aloine.

"You, you and...heh..you. Out there now."

Milena smiled as she whipped her hair is a playful manner. Aloine stood and folded her arms across her chest. Milena pointed toward a small set of stairs by the door leading to the 'stage'. Vague sounds of Yautja tongue slurred by liquor floated into the room, making her skin crawl.

"Get out there and earn your keep. You've only been used once before. You need some...breaking in."

Aloine's eyes narrowed.

"I will not be used as a meat puppet!"

She felt a pair of hands on both her shoulders. It was Emma and the other girl picked to go out. They quietly hushed her and apologized to Milena as they pushed her toward the door. Aloine pushed against the two girls, fighting every step. She couldn't go out there. She couldn't let them touch her; She was Rokian's and no one else's!

With one final shove the unnamed girl slipped out a cuss word as she pushed Aloine onto the stage. The bright light of the stage momentarily blinded her as she was dragged onto her own stage. The sound of low growls and heated speech grew louder as soon as Aloine was left alone on the main circular stage. Aloine stood in the middle, just out of reach of the Yautja below. One reached his claw out; flicking his finger in a beckoning motion as he clicked excitedly.

_"Come here, little one. You must be new. I'll take care of you."_

Aloine inched away from him as the other girl hissed at her.

"Don't just stand there! Dance, flirt, do something!"

Aloine softly began swaying back and forth as her eyes darted around the room. Her eyes fixated on the only exit in the area. Instead of two guards, the door was guarded by only one. It was possible to get to through the door. The last problem she had to face was finding where Rokian was. His trial was today; she had to find him. Her thoughts suddenly shattered as she felt a hand run up her leg. She had inadvertently moved too close to the edge of the stage. She jumped and fell backwards toward the other side of the stage. One older Yautja took this opportunity and wrapped his massive arm around her waist and pulled her from the stage. Aloine kicked and scratched at him like a trapped animal. He chuckled deeply, almost amused by her pathetic attempt of escape. Milena approached the the older Yautja and bowed; a dark smile plastered across her face.

"Please follow me, sir. You're lucky, Aloine. He's one of our best clients."

Aloine panicked as the Yautja fondled her while they walked to the back rooms. She pushed his hands away with her only free hand, trying desperately to keep him from touching her. Milena pushed a button to open the door. The older Yautja pushed Aloine into the room and tossed a pouch filled with money at Milena as the door shut behind him.

Aloine sat on the floor, trying to reach the brush that had slid down toward her back. The Yautja dropped his mask by the door and approached her. Aloine stood and placed her hands outstretched before her.

"Please, please don't! Please let me go.."

The Yautja smirked as he slowly circled her almost as though she were his prey.

_"I'll let you go...after we are finished here. Now, remove your clothing."_

Aloine lifted her hands nervously. She didn't know how to remove the corset Emma put on her. It was tied eight different places, removing it was not an option. The Yautja folded his arms, annoyed.

_"I paid for three hours with you, I'm not spending it on your shyness."_

The Yautja grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to the floor. Aloine tried to scoot away, but he caught her ankle.

_"Very good. Now, don't just give up. I like it when they fight."_

He yanked at the corset causing the make up brush to drop and roll by her leg. She tried nonchalantly to snatch the brush, trying to ignore the Yautja's wandering hands. The Yautja's knee knocked the brush into her hand. This was her one shot. She gripped it firmly, reached back and plunged the handle into the soft flesh of the yautja's neck.

His head whipped back as he let out a blood curdling roar. Aloine pulled herself up and inched toward the door. The Yautja thrashed around roaring.

"_You bitch! I'll kill you! You bitch!"_

The door hissed open uncovering Milena.

"What did you do?!"

She pushed passed Milena just as the enraged Yautja reached for Aloine. The Yautja missed his intended target and grabbed Milena by the throat. He let out another roar as he snapped her neck and threw her behind him.

Aloine ran down the hallway and into the main room with the other Yautja and dancing girls. Aloine waved her arms above her head, trying to get Emma and the other girls attention to no avail. Instead she was pushed to the ground by Raut, who had backed out of the hallway and into her. He turned with anger in his eyes.

"You little idiot! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Just as Raut finished his sentence, the older Yautja burst through the door. He punched Raut square in the face causing him to tumble back against the wall. The Older one then turned turned to Aloine. Aloine looked around frantically before running into the crowd of Yautja. The Older Yautja held out his arms on his side in a taunting position before running into the unknowing crowd. Aloine fell to all fours and crawled through them as the Older one clawed, punched and ripped his way through the crowd. Several of his brethren tried frantically to grab and hold him down, all in vain. The adrenaline pumping through his veins blinded him with rage completely over powering anyone who dared attack him. The Older warrior knocked two more younger brethren to the ground as he searched for the girl who did that to him. He wanted Aloine dead. The large Yautja guarding the door raced to control the raged brother, giving Aloine an open window of escape.

Raut shook his head of the throbbing pain and looked up to see a disaster. The brethren still fought off the crazed yautja as many of the girls lay bloodied at his feet. His precious money makers were getting destroyed because of the stupidity of the new meat. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small figure on all fours, scrambling up the stairway exit. One of the girls was attempting escape and he had an idea of who it was. Ignoring the seething pain from a shattered tendril, he stood and raced to the exit. That little whore was going to pay for her indiscretion.

The second Aloine pushed open the thick, metal door, the thick air made her drop to her knees. Every time she breathed in, it was like having a wet towel wrapped around her face. The air was thick and stung slightly. With all the strength she had, Aloine pulled herself to her feet and began to run. She didn't care where at that second, she just had to run. As she reached the end of the dead city, she felt something hard knock against her shoulder. Her legs locked up from the sudden, excruciating pain. Whatever it was, the velocity from it was strong enough to push her to the ground. Aloine laid there for a moment, fighting off the nauseous feeling building in her throat. She turned her head slightly to see a bloodied rock. Someone had to have thrown it at her. She slowly rolled onto her side to look behind her to find the origin of the it. Raut was running toward her, his tendrils flared and both arms were balled into fists. Aloine let out a frightened yelp as she scrambled to stand, nearly tumbling over from a sudden dizziness and pain from her cracked shoulder blade.

There was no way she could outrun him, that was a fact she was well aware of. There was no way to overpower him either. The only thing Aloine could think of was to somehow out smart him. She ducked into a small hole of a building. Raut chased her, sticking his arm into the hole, trying to catch her ankle. He let out an angry grunt as he pulled himself up and ran to a busted out window. The town had been abandoned for many, many years after a unknown disease ripped through the small town killing off almost everyone who resided there. He had taken a huge risk coming to a dead town that could have had the disease still fermenting somewhere. He wasn't going to let her ruin all the trouble he went through. The building was so completely ruin down, it looked as though it would come crashing down at any second. He walked to the middle of the large room. Light pierced through cracks in the ceiling and broken green glass. It gave the whole building an eerie green color. Raut let out a frustrated growl. He knew she was in the building, though finding the little rat was going to be tough. He cursed himself once again for not having his helmet. He could find her in seconds.

_"I thought you were stupid, but I never would have thought you were this stupid."_

He whipped his head around to the sound of falling sand from an above alcove. He back up to get a better view.

_"You think I would just let you walk out? I paid too much for you. If you come out now, I won't beat you. You'll just be used more than the other girls. Now, come out."_

There was silence, which enraged him.

_"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE DEAD!!"_

Aloine clamped her eyes shut and covered her mouth. She didn't know what to do, the mix of fear and pain blinded her. She dragged her legs to her chest. She hid behind trash and a crumbled piece of building. She carefully peeked around the concrete. She didn't see him. She let out a relieved sigh that didn't last. Raut grabbed her by the neck and pulled her out from behind the trash. He threw her to the ground. Aloine cried out in pain as she hit the floor. She turned onto her stomach and began to crawl as Raut slowly stalked behind, chuckling.

_"Did you really think I wouldn't find you?"_

He picked her up and tossed her through the broken window he entered from. She laid there, staring up at the sky. She was going to die and Rokian was going to be killed for something he never did. She shut her eyes. Oh, her poor Rokain. She wished she could say she was sorry.

_"M-miss Aloine?"_

Her eyes shot open. Aloine recognized the voice. She turned her head toward the source of the voice. He was wearing a mask and different clothing, but it was definitely him. The elderly Yautja stood only a few feet from her, leaning on his cane. For the first time in days, she cracked a smile.

"Do...doctor Lowe.."

Raut stepped through the glass and glared at Lowe.

_"Where the hell have you been? You said you'd only be gone for a short time. Do you know what this little slut did while you were out? She attacked a customer! She tried to escape!"_

Lowe and Aloine exchanged glances as Raut reached down, grabbing her by the throat and raising her above his head. He squeezed against the soft flesh of her throat, chocking the life from her small body. Aloine's vision began to blur from tears and lack of oxygen. Her eye lids slipped shut. Raut began to let out a cackle that only lasted for a few seconds. The laugh phased into a sickening gurgling noise. Something warm and wet hit Aloine's face and chest. She felt Raut release her from his grip. She toppled back, landing on her back, causing her shoulder blade to twist in pain. Aloine coughed and let out tiny sobs as she clamped her hands around her throat in a soothing motion. Aloine heard a heavy 'thump' and something that sounded like metal being slid into something. After a minute, her eyes began to focus. Lowe was hovering over her on one knee, checking her vitals. Still a little dazed, she turned her head to see Raut lying in a thick pool of his own blood. It was hard to tell from the angle he was lying, but it looked like the source of the pool was his neck. Aloine dragged in a sharp breath. Lowe clicked sadly and pulled himself up to his feet with the help of his cane.

"I've really done it now. I've killed a comrade for a hum... a girl..."

Lowe bit his tongue. After all she obviously been through, the last thing he wanted was to add more onto her shoulders. She didn't need to know what she really was. He stared down at the little human girl. She looked like a street kid; She was covered head to toe in mud and sand, her clothing was ripped and also caked with black mud. If no one gave her a second glnce, she could pass for one of them...that was, of course if no one saw her face. He slumped his arms. He didn't think he was going to be stuck in the city for as long as he was. If only he came a few hours earlier. Aloine hiccuped and looked at him. Her cheeks were stained and caked with blood, sweat, mud and two trails of tears. She swallowed hard before finally squeeking out;

""Wh...what have I done? I left them...How could I leave them to be..I'm sorry Doctor Lowe..I'm sorry...Emma...Miku.."

Lowe's eyes widened as he spun around in the direction of the 'meat' house. He felt his heart wretch. Raut said Aloine attacked one of the customers. What if she hit...

Lowe unhooked the mask he was wearing and ripped it from his face. He tore a piece of a cloth draped across his chest and looped it with holes near the back of the mask. Without any warning, he placed the mask over Aloine's face, using the ripped fabric as a strap to keep it on her head.

"Lowe, what are you...hey, wait!"

He tightened the fabric so it was snug against her head. He then took her by her uninjured shoulder and pointed toward a faded beacon of light, straining to shine through heavy clouds.

"You see that light? Follow it. It leads to the city. The light is coming from the arena where Rokian is going to be tried..."

Aloine grabbed his claw and squeezed it.

"B-but what about the girls? What if I get lost? I can't..I.."

Lowe snapped at her.

"Stop it! Rokian went through a lo of trouble to bring you here. Don't worry about the girls. If their alive, I'll help them.."

"But...but.."

"You have to help Rokian now. You're the only one who can convince the Master Elder you were not taken. Prove to her you want to be with him. Miss Aloine,If you care about him, you'll go now. You won't have much time. Once the trial starts, that light goes out."

Aloine released his claw and turned toward the faded light. She was her Rokain's last hope. Aloine bowed deeply, thanking the Doctor. Gritting her teeth, and trying her hardest to ignore the searing pain in her shoulder, she started of in a quick paced run. Her eyes never left the light. She was going to reach him; She had to...

--

Jovi stretched as she leaned against the wall near the entrance of the arena. Pretty soon he'd be free and she could finally convince him to do the right thing. She glanced over at a market selling breaded native-born oomans for slaves. The creatures were never trained to talk or think. They were just there for slaves or game...and sometimes a delicacy. As she watched two oomans wrestle with one another, she wondered how the little ooman whore was doing. She smiled to herself. No one knew who she was and the only ones who knew she was there was Spike. Just as she finished her thoughts, Spike, himself, walked by her on his way to the arena caring a dark brown bag. He gave her one of his famous dark grins as he passed her.

_"Pleasant day for trial."_

Jovi shivered as his image slowly disappeared into the arena. Even though she was considerably larger than Spike, he still creeped her out. He gav off such a wicked vibe. Jovi pushed herself off the wall to head into the arena. She was going to testify in his defense whether he wanted her to or not. She was willing to forgive him for their little spat in the prision hall if he'd do one thing for her...

A young female pup bumped into her leg as she turned to enter the arena. Jovi glared down and hissed at the pup, only to stifle it. Who's ever the pup's family was going to give her a good whipping when they saw she was wearing a hunting mask. Whoever the kid was, he scent seemed familiar. The young pup looked down in an almost apologetic, but mostly frightened motion. Jovi rolled her eyes at the brat and continued to walk several steps before stopping dead in her tracks. That smell...That smell the pup was giving off. She knew it from somewhere...from someone. It was _her. _It had to be. She smelled just like the brat. Jovi scanned the ever growing crowd of comrades all filing in to see Rokian's trial. She didn't see her. Jovi cursed to herself. It couldn't be her. IT JUST COULDN'T BE! She'd ruin everything. Jovi rubbed her neck in frustration. She pushed her way through the crowd. She'd have to find Spike. He was the only one who intimidated the ooman girl.

--

The little 'pup' had managed to make it to the city in record time. She had ran the entire way, always focused on the light. She had been so locked onto it, she didn't even notice she had reached the city until she bumped into a Yautja child about her height. After a brief exchange, she followed he light to a huge stone building. She became entranced. Somewhere inside of the building, Rokain was waiting for her. She managed to pull herself into the drifting crowd. As she walked with her head down, she heard a soft whistle. She glanced up and nearly lost her footing. Spike was walking next to her. He winked at her and made a soft clicking noise.

_"Does your papa know you have his mask, beautiful?"_

She shot her glare back to the pavement. Spike chuckled mistaking her actions as being shy, instead of being terrified. He leaned into her and lowered his voice to a deep whisper.

_"How about after the trial you meet me just down by river. How 'bout it?"_

She felt him pinch her back playfully as he made a sharp turn away from her as if heading somewhere specific. Aloine fought the urge to rip the mask off and vomit. Although she could only understand every other word he muttered, she heard enough to sicken her. Oh, how she hated him, but even through the hatred, he terrified her. Completely overwhelmed by her encounter with Spike, she knocked into a female that returned the bump with a hiss. Scared she'd be caught, she kept her head bowed to the woman before ducking into the crowd once more.

--

Rokian felt his stomach sink as he was led out to the main hall in chains. His hands were bound behind him. Even though he was in a very dishonorable position, he kept his head raised. As he reached the middle of the stage, he glared around at his comrades. Many, many of them lined the stone seats. Apparently his 'indiscretion', as everyone was calling it, was a main event. Despite all the ruckus around him; the hisses, the hoots and words being thrown at him, there was only one thing he could focus on. No, not a thing. A female. _His female_. He never heard back from the doctor. He felt the chains around his arms tense when he clutched his fists. He'd give anything to touch her again. He glanced up at the empty seat where the Master Elder sat during trials. Rokian inhaled sharply before slowly letting it out. If he was going to find his lovely, he had to be released. Then anyone and _everyone_ that hurt her would pay with their blood.

One soldier entered the chamber, commanding everyone stand, which the comrades did accordingly. Rokian couldn't help but let out a forced laugh.

_"...Here we go."_


	21. caught

**-- -- --**

Lovely pushed her way the best she could through the thick crowd of mostly men. She had made it into the building quick and easy before finally reaching the main hall. The area was huge and circular; everything was facing the middle of the stage where a bright light shined. After some maneuvering through the crowd, she was able to make it to the front seating areas where other yautja were standing and shouting obscenities. Lovely glanced around the room, nervously. She knew both Jovi and Spike were somewhere in the arena and the last thing she wanted was for them to realized who she was.

A sudden uproar snapped her attention back to the main stage. Two guards marched into the room, followed by a yautja chained up. Lovely leaned against the bar that separated the bleachers from the stage. Her knees wobbled and her eyes burned. Rokian. It was her Rokian that was chained up like an animal! She watched with tear filled eyes as the two guards forced him to his knees so the ends of his chains could be locked to two different looped bolted to the ground. Lovely looked away. It was almost too much to bare.

_"Nothing like seeing a filthy flesh peddler get what he deserves."_

Aloine turned her head and backed into the bars. Spike! Was he following her? He leaned against the bar, smiling at her. Aloine wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that _he_ was the flesh smuggler, not Rokian. Instead, she shook her head awkwardly and tried to ignore the mixed emotions swimming in her stomach. Spike laughed.

_"What's wrong? I've never known anyone to wear a mask around town. Come on, let's see your pretty face."_

Aloine pushed hard against the bars. She panicked when she felt his hands touch the mask. As he began to raise it, a loud voice boomed in the room.

_"All shall stand in the glory of our Master Elder Guriaath!"_

The second Spike's fingers lifted from her mask, Aloine ducked between two comrades and pushed far from Spike. She made it farther down and against the bar once again just as a large, old, female Yautja entered the room from an upper level. She was quite taller than any other Yautja she ever saw. Her dreads were completely white and littered with gold and blue gems. She wore a dark brown cloak that covered most of her body, balanced on a cane and had many tattoos and scars on her face and hands. The elderly woman raised her hand, motioning her people to quieten. The room fell into a cold silence as the female sat on the throne like chair and cleared her throat.

_"Rokian, my young son. You have been charged with the crime of flesh peddling. You understand this is a very serious crime, do you not?"_

Rokian shook his head.

_"I have done nothing wrong. Whom ever has made these accusations obviously has some type of agenda."_

Rokian glanced at Jovi, who was standing not to far off from him. Her gaze was not on him, instead, she was searching the crowd with her eyes. She seemed upset and rather distressed. Rokian moved his eyes along the crowd, wondering who she could have been searching for. The master elder let out a deep sigh.

_"As you know, Rokian, I will not charge you unless I see evidence that points to you and only you. I will not allow this to continue if I believe this to be a witch hunt. Now, is there any proof that this comrade has done what is claimed?"_

The room remained silent for only a moment until one comrade stood.

_"I have evidence!"_

All eyes rested on one Yautja. Spike stood, holding a brown bag. He had a malicious look plastered across his face. Guriaath tilted her head to the side.

_"Step forward and produce this evidence you speak of."_

Aloine's breath caught in her throat. Evidence?! How could he have evidence of something that never happened?! Spike jumped over the railing and tossed the brown bag in front of Rokian. Spike pointed at the bag.

_"In there, you'll find articles of clothing, a bag and other things; all belonging to a ooman. All of them reek of Rokian."_

It felt as though someone kicked Rokian in the stomach. Spike had gone into his room and found Lovely's clothing he forgot to jettison into space. How was he going to defend that? A guard removed the back pack from the brown bag and took it to the Elder. She relucantly removed a shirt that was ripped and had dried blood caked onto it. Guriaath rubbed the material between her thumb and index finger. It was, without a doubt, blood of a human. She let out a deep and painful sigh. Spike snickered.

_"You should have checked his body, also. I bet he has some ooman DNA on..."_

_"Spike, that is enough! Rokian, I'm afraid this evidence is quite alarming..."_

Rokian shook his head out of frustration.

_"It isn't what it appears, Master..."_

The Elder tilted her head and let out a deep sigh.

_"Is that all you can say? Do you not wish to defend yourself? Rokian...Is it, indeed, true that you are guilty of flesh peddling?"_

Rokian's head shot up to meet his mother's glare.

_"NO! I would never smuggle breeders! I am not guilty!"_

_"You say this, yet this evidence shows otherwise. Can you explain why these human garments were found in your possession? Why they are covered in blood? Can you?"_

Rokian lowered his eyes.

_"I...cannot."_

Rokian lowered his gaze to the floor as Guriaath raised hers to meet the eyes of her people.

_"Very well..."_

Guriaath inhaled and held it as though thinking deeply. Lovely's gaze went from the Master Elder to Rokian. She felt so helpless standing amongst comrades that would like nothing more than to run Rokian through. She brought her hands up against her chest, holding her hands and squeezed. The room was quiet with only small murmurs coming from the crowd. Jovi shifted from foot to foot as she searched the crowd until she came across a pup standing in between two larger females. She had her hands against her chest in a praying motion. The mud that was on her skin was beginning to chip, showing her light skin underneath. Jovi narrowed her eyes. It was unmistakable. That 'pup' was the little brat, Aloine. She slowly backed into the crowd and slowly pushed her way toward the ooman as the Master Elder spoke up.

_"Rokian, my son, since you refuse to cooperate with the questions, I have no choice but to administrate a punishment..."_

The room grew dead silent. Jovi pushed past two more men and reached for Aloine.

_"...One hundred lashes."_

Rokian looked to the ground as one of the guards reached behind his back and unhooked a whip from the back of his belt. The guard walked around Rokian to face him. The crowd erupted into applauds and shouting. Aloine's eyes widened. She wasn't going to let that happen. He wasn't going to pay for something he didn't do. Just as Jovi went to wrap her hands around Lovely's hair, the girl jumped over the bar.

Rokian's breath caught in his throat as a figure jumped from the crowd to in between him and the guard. He recognized the girl right away. The loud, chanting and shouts suddenly died down. The Master Elder's eyes narrowed at the figure now standing before her insubordinate son. The young Yautja stood, both hands outstretched, as if trying to protect Rokian from the guards, the on lookers and the Master Elder, herself. She studied the pup, completely speechless at her actions. This particular Yautja was a young female. She looked as though she had been a runt of a litter; she was shaking and breathing hard. One of her shoulders appeared to be injured. The mask she wore was twice the size of her head. The young female suddenly placed a fist across her heart and knelt down on one knee with the other hand still outstretched. She bowed her head and spoke.

_"Please...I..._I beg of you_..Please don't hurt Rokian. He hasn't done anything wrong. Please..._I beg of you.."

The sudden shift from Yautja speech to ooman speech created loud whispers from the onlookers. Rokian shifted his bound arms. He wanted to rip free of his captures and take Lovely away before anyone realized what she was. He couldn't protect her. The Master Elder stood from her seat and approached the edge of the platform. There was something wrong with this child. Her scent was too heavily similar to Rokians, with something hidden behind it. She pounded her cane against the marble floor.

_"Young one...You are awfully bold to object to my ruling...Who are you?"_

The girl stood with her fist still against her chest. She then took her other hand and ripped her top to reveal the tattoo Rokian placed on her chest.

_"My name is _Lovely_. I am Rokian's mate."_

The whispers continued to grow louder. Spike felt bile rise into his throat. How hell did she get out of the flesh market? The master Elder raised her hand to silence the crowd. One guard standing behind the two nudged another guard and pointed at her back. Her hair and body looked different. Guriaath noticed their jesters and acted accordingly. She raised a boney finger toward the pup.

_"Young one...Remove your mask. I wish to see your face."_

The girl looked behind her to Rokian, as if unsure if she should comply. He shook his head 'no' slightly before she turned back to face the Elder. The Elder narrowed her eyes and pounded her cane angerly.

_"Either you remove the mask, child or I will remove it for you!"_

The girl took a deep breath before reaching up to her mask. She lowered her head and ripped the cloth that held it in place, before raising her head slowly. The crowd up roared in anger, panic and surprise. The master Elder stood in disbelief, unable to make any audible noises.

A human girl.

Rokian yanked at his chains wanting desperately for them to snap. Silence turned to whispers, then loud, angry shouting for the girl's death. The guards began to close in on Aloine, who, instead of running, took her original position of shielding Rokian. This caught the attention of Guriaath. Just as one guard pulled back his spear to stab the ooman girl, the Master Elder let out an alarmingly loud growl that shook the walls. All heads snapped to her attention.

_"That is ENOUGH! Stand down. I said, STAND DOWN!"_

The guards took one last look at Aloine before reluctantly backing to their stations. Guriaath stood from her throne and jumped down right in front of the girl, catching her by surprise. Aloine's eyes trailed up to the Master Elder's face. She was huge; much taller than Jovi or the other females. Rokian and his mother exchanged stares before Guriaath laid her eyes on 'Lovely'. The room was dead silent with anticipation of what she was going to do the ooman. Very slowly, she walked around Aloine; studying her. What a bold human. Not only had she walked through the city with the risk of being discovered, she maneuvered through her brethren and exposed who she was in front of thousands of Yautja...all to save her son. This human was either extremely brave or a complete idiot. Guriaath raised her hand to her guards, signaling them.

_"I will discuss this matter with these two alone. Guards, take Rokian and the human to my chambers. I will be there shortly."_

The arena erupted with angry objections while pieces of trash and bottles were tossed into the arena. Two guards approached Aloine and each grabbed an arm as four more approached Rokian. Looks of disgust were visible on some of their faces, while others were harder to inter prate. As they were led out through a long hallway, Rokian looked back to Lovely. She smiled sadly back at him. One of his guards knocked him in the chest with his elbow.

_"Face forward. You may be the Master Elder's son, but your still a prisoner."_

The sounds of the arena slowly began to grow quieter as they were led up a long, spiral staircase. Rokian knew the area well. When was a pup, he'd play on the stairs all day. When they reached the top, they approached a set of crimson red doors. Two of Rokians guards left his side and opened the large doors. The room was darkly lit, with a raging fire inside a huge, stone fire place. The rest of the room was completely empty except for a comfortable looking chair facing the fire place. Aloine's guards pushed her inside the room, followed by Rokian. All six guards glared at them.

_"We'll be watching the door. Step one foot out and we won't hesitate to kill you."_

The doors slammed shut, leaving the two alone. With his hands still chained behind him, Rokian fell to his knees and leaned his head against Aloine's stomach. Lovely looked down sadly at Rokian as she stroked his dreads.

"Lovely...I...I can't believe...you're here. How did get all...the way..through the city?"

Lovely covered her face with her hands and cried into them. Between sobs, she tried her best to talk. It wasn't easy. Her nerves were completely shot.

"Doctor Lowe said...he said they were going to kill you for something you didn't do. I couldn't...I couldn't let t-that happen. I just wanted to make sure y-you were okay. I'm sorry. I should have thought before I...I jumped into the arena.."

Rokian clicked softly and pulled away from her, letting her fall to her knees. Rokian leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Lovely lowered her hands and returned his gaze.

"Lovely...I don't know...what's going to happen...but, no matter what does...I am your mate...I care about...only you. Don't ever forget that..."

Tears traced down her face. They couldn't take her away after everything she went through to get to him.

"Rokian...I wanted to tell you...I lo..."

_"I thought so..."_

Their attention quickly moved from each other to the large Yautja standing before them. They were both so distracted, they never heard Guriaath enter the room. The Master Elder walked behind Rokian and broke the chains off his wrists. Rokian rubbed his wrists as the Elder sat in the chair and motioned for both of them to her view. Rokian placed a hand on Lovely's shoulder as they walked around the chair to face his mother. He didn't remove his hand from her shoulder. Guriaath leaned back in the chair and sighed into her hand.

_"I must admit, that was quite a show you put on down there, you too. To think that my only son would rather take a human as a mate then his own kind...Rokian, I think you know what your doing."_

_"Yes, I do. I want _Lovely_ as my mate. I don't want anyone else."_

Guriaath stood and growled. Lovely backed up, unsure as to what she would do. Guriaath grabbed him by the shoulders and held him steady.

_"You are too young to understand! You may have become one of the top hunters, but that does not mean you know what you are doing!"_

_"I don't care. If you hate it, then exile me!"_

Guriaath let out a frustrated groan as she released her stubborn son. Lovely stared at Rokian with her mouth slightly open. He was willing to be banished from his home for her. It made her feel good and incredibly horrible at the same time. Guriaath sat back down and rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb. With her other hand, she flicked a finger in the direction of Aloine.

_"Young one, come closer."_

Aloine and Rokian exchanged deep stares before she very carefully approached the Elder. Guriaath lifted her head and glared at the girl. She studied her momentarily before clicking loudly. Two guards entered the room and bowed. Lovely looked back at Rokian who had a confused look on his face. Guriaath stood and placed her large claw on Aloine's head.

_"Rokian, you are to wait in the hallway with the guards until I tell you it is okay to return."_

Rokian shifted his eyes, worried. Guriaath patted Aloine's head lightly.

_"I will not harm her. I need to discuss several things with the human. Now, leave son. You know you can trust me."_

Fear strickened Aloine as she watch Rokian walk out of the room, led by guards. Now she was alone with the Master Elder. Guriaath cleared her throat and slowly sat back into her seat.

_"Come here, _Lovely_ was it?"_

Aloine's shoulder tensed as she approached the very large Yautja. When she was in range, Guriaath reached out a hand and pulled her closer.

_"Come closer, I won't bite."_

Aloine stood frozen as the Yautja looked her over.

_"I suppose you are not all that bad looking. I suppose I can understand why he insists on calling you_ 'Lovely'."

She took a deep breath.

_"What an odd child you are. You can breath the air, speak some of our language and even stand up to creatures three times your size. It is quite an amazing feat you managed to pull off."_

Guriaath released Aloine from her grip and sat back in her seat. She wasn't without a heart. She could tell her son truly cared for the girl. Even she was impressed with how far the human went to defend her son. Still, it didn't change the fact she was a human and he was a Yautja. If she had any sense in her, she'd kill the human then and there, but her son was smart. He had marked her as his. It was a sacred bond that not even she could break..unless they haven't...

_"Do you care for my son?"_

Lovely looked up.

"Y-Yes. I do. More than anything..I..."

_"Have you and him consummated?"_

Aloine's face turned red as she looked down at the ground and stammered.

"I..um we..."

She didn't even need an answer. 'Lovely' s reaction was answer enough. Guriaath stood and folded her arms.

_"Although you and my son have become lovers, I will not accept this. I am not convinced you will make an adequate mate for my son."_

Aloine felt her heart shatter. She had to prove herself. Without thinking, she blurted out;

"The lashings..."

_"What about them?"_

Aloine's throat tightened and she dropped her arms to her side.

"You said he would have to receive one hundred lashings to clear his name. I will take his place!"

Guriaath nearly lost her balance.

_"Don't be stupid! Your frail body can't possible handle one hundred lashings from one of my guards."_

"If it will prove to you that I am an adequate mate,_ I will do it!_"

Guriaath thought for a moment before shouting at the guards to allow Rokian back into the room. When he entered, he saw the somber look on both of their faces. Rokian approached his Lovely and placed his hand on her shoulder.

_"What's going on?"_

Guriaath motioned her head toward Lovely.

_"It seems your lover has offered to take your place for your punishment."_

Rokian whirled around, mortified. He knew it was a bad idea to leave her alone with her mother.

"Lovely, no! You can't!"

Lovely looked up at him and smiled.

"I have too. I have to prove myself."

"No..there must be another way..."

Rokian stood and faced his mother. Since his mother would never let Lovely go back on her word, he could only do one thing.

"I am Lovely's mate. Any punishment she receives, I, too, shall receive. Split the lashings between us."

--

Amber did her best to comfort Aloine as she lay in her arms. Aloine was sobbing freely as she held her head, rocking slightly. Aloine had begun talking about her life, realizing more of her life was a lie and becoming more upset.

"I don't understand...When I think of one memory, another one pushes through. My life, my family..I...I don't understand..."

Aloine forced herself to stand. She wobbled at the sudden light headed feeling.

"My dad..I have to...see my dad."

Amanda grabbed Aloine's arm while still in a sitting position.

"But Aloine, what about your 'mate'?"

Aloine pulled her arm from Amanda's grip only to nearly trip over her own feet.

"I...I don't know if I want to see him right now. He...he lied...He lied about _everything_."

Amanda frowned and thumbed her string necklace and watched as Aloine began to slowly trudge toward the door..

"Aloine, I don't know what to say other than...he may have lied to you and taken you away but maybe he had good reason, you know? You love him right? And, you've waited all this time to..."

Amanda grew silent at the feeling of something cold and metallic touching the back of her head. She let out a breathless cry at the sound of a gun cocking.

"Put your hands where I can see them."

Aloine whirled around. Two men dressed in black stood behind Amanda. One held a gun against the back of Amanda's skull. Salty tears began to form at the brim of Amanda's eyes. She prayed his finger wouldn't slip. The taller man without the gun ordered Amanda to stand, then pointed a thick finger toward Aloine in a beckoning manner.

"You, little girl, come here."

Aloine stood momentarily before slowly walking toward the two men. As she reached within arms reach of the two men, the shorter one pistol whipped her with a baton he had hidden in his coat. Amanda let out a throaty scream at the sickening crack noise the baton made against Aloine's jaw.

-- -- --


	22. The loss

Merry XMAS everyone! This is the second to last chapter of this long story. Yup, it's finally coming to an end. I'll be putting up the last of it before the 31st. Thanks for all the support. Happy trails!

---------------- *-------------------*--------------*

Aloine and Rokian were quietly led back down the hallway that led to the arena. Two guards walked in front and behind them. Shouts and growls hit them like a wave as they entered the main area. Rokian glared around the room, searching for Jovi or Spike. Both of which seemed to have taken off. Aloine kept her head down, and her eyes clamped closed. She tried to mentally prepare herself for something that was going to hurt...a lot. Rokian stared down at her as they were both forced to their knees by the guards behind them. The Master Elder reappeared on her stage raised high above the main arena. She raised both of her hands to silence the angry crowd. She slowly sat back in her seat and calmly spoke.

_"I have spoken both with Rokian and the human girl, _Lovely_..."_

Aloine raised her head and tilted it. What did 'human' mean?

_"...And I have decided that they shall split Rokians punishment..."_

The crowd erupted in a roar of approval. Guriaath raised her hand once again.

_"I have not finished. If the girl can sustain all fifty lashes..."_

Aloine and Rokian both looked up intensively at the Master Elder.

_"...I will approve the mate proposal."_

Aloine and Rokian exchanged glances. This obviously was not what the crowd deemed appropriate. Comrades shook their fists, shouted for the girls death and tossed objects into the arena. Guriaath stood and pounded her cane into the marble-like stage.

_"That is ENOUGH! I will NOT have anymore outbursts! It is MY ruling. You will all keep your mouths shut. Now, _Lovely_, Rokian? Are you ready?_

Lovely lowered her head and nodded with Rokian. She inhaled and held her breath. If she could just hang in through the fifty lashes, no one could stand in their way. She could be with Rokian and no one, not even Guriaath, had any say in it. The Master Elder returned their nod and signaled for the two guards behind them to release their whips from their belts. The sound of the whips hitting the ground made Aloine release the breath she had been holding. She jumped at the feeling of Rokians hand touch her arm. He gave it a reassuring squeeze before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Aloine,too, closed her eyes only for them to snap open as the whip cracked across her back diagonally. She yelped in between her teeth and gripped at the dirt floor. Rokian, on the other hand, was holding in his shouts of pain. It hurt him just as badly as it did Aloine, but he had to be strong. Another one slashed crossed her back. Aloine could feel bile rising to her throat. The fifth slash connected with the injury on her shoulder. That did it. Aloine cupped her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from vomiting. It didn't do much good. She coughed and gagged at the feeling. Rokian kept his eyes closed and head down. He couldn't stand to watch Lovely getting whipped, let alone hearing it. He tried to focus his attention on counting the numbers of lashing between him and her.

Guriaath was impressed by the human girls strength. It wasn't until she was lashed 35 times before she vomited a small amount of blood and bile. Yet, she didn't once beg for mercy. She took each lash like a champion. Guriaath focused more on the human than her son. Rokian was strong. 50 lashes were nothing to him, she hoped. She sat back in her chair, sighing. How could her son be so bull headed? There were such lovely women that had shown interest in him. What possessed him to want a pathetic creature as a human. As she stared at the human, she noticed the girl would periodically clutch her stomach as she was whipped. It was an odd reaction to being whipped. Guriaath snapped her fingers to one of her guards.

"Hand me your helmet! Now!"

The guard unhooked his helmet from his belt and handed it to the Master Elder. She readjusted the strap, placed it over her head and focused it's vision straight at the human. Seconds later she ripped the mask off her face and stood.

"Stop the lashings, NOW!"

------*-----------------------*----------------------*---------------------*

Conder held his side as he finally reached the warehouses. He coughed and pulled out his cell phone and dialed his daughters number. The last time he had talked to her, she was suddenly cut off. After that, he was unable to get a hold of her. As he walked with the phone to his ear, he heard a faint rumbling sound coming from one small alley way. He looked at his phone and ended the call. At the same time, the rumbling in the dark alleyway stopped. Conder felt a knot twist in his throat. He unhooked his gun and flashlight and held it down the alley way. He didn't see anything. He fumbled with the flashlight and his phone. He hit redial and stuffed it in his pocket. The rumbling noise started up again. He held the flash light and gun up to eye level as he very carefully walked down the alley way. About three quarters into the cramped space, he found his daughter's cell. The hinge was busted and the screen was cracked, but it was still working. He knelt down and retrieved it from the dirty pavement. He swallowed as he glanced down both ends of the alley.

"Amanda!"

No answer. Conder stumbled to his feet, wiping muddy water stained hands onto his pants. He called his daughter's name but instead of an answer, he thought he heard the sound of people fighting. After so many years on the force, the sound of a brawl was all too familiar. Only this almost sounded like animals scuffling. With his gun still drawn, Conder crept to the end of the alleyway and very carefully peeked his head around the corner. He was...confused to say the least. He stood, jaw hung open as he watched two men easily six or seven feet tall not to far from his 'hiding' place. One monster was on top of the other one pummeling him in the face. The bottom one grabbed the top one by the throat and jammed a blunt object that looked like a baton against its side. The top one let out a mind numbing growl. Conder stood dumbfounded by the whole scenario. Usually when he saw two men fighting he'd break it up; possibly arrest someone. THIS, however...this did not seem like one of those times. They weren't human...Maybe...maybe they might have something to do with Aloine? He backed away from the corner as quietly as he could. Just as he turned to slink back into the dark, he saw four shadows at the other end of the alley. Two of them had their hands over their heads. Conder recognized the one of them immediately.

"Amanda!"

___*__________*____*

Spike let out a throaty laugh as he towered over the younger Yautja. Rokian may have been a great fighter, but he was too involved with his emotions. He was, in so many words, an idiot. Spike pulled out a baton shaped weapon from his belt and raised it above his head. As he brought it down, Rokian leaped forward and tackled him to the ground. A shower of punches pummeled Spike's face, arms and chest. After about a dozen punches, Spike regained his composure and jabbed the baton into Rokian's ribs. He fell back, holding his side before jumping back to his feet. Spike, too, stood. They stared each other down. Spike wiped his mouth of bright green blood.

_"I knew you wouldn't stay away. Not when your little whore is in such a dangerous predicament."_

Rokian's mandibles flared and his fists tightened.

_"I will only say this once, Spike. You call her a whore again and I will rip the mandibles from your face!"_

Spike placed one hand behind his back and the other in front of him, flicking his claw.

_"Well, then. Come on. Prove me wrong."_

Rokian charged at Spike. Spike stood grinning as he extended a hidden weapon. When Rokian came into range, Spike revealed a round, jagged edged disk from behind his back. It was Spike's favorite weapon. It always came back to the one who threw it. Without a beat between them, Spike flung it toward Rokian with all of his strength. Rokian did his best to avoid it, but didn't do a very good job. He raised his right arm as it glided in between his arm and torso, leaving a nice clean slice int both parts of his body. The metal disk continued to fly in an undetermined route as Rokian tried to cover the painful wounds. This wasn't working. All of those years in the banishment only made Spike stronger! He collapsed on one knee as Spike approached him with the look of death in his eyes.

_"I'll be sure to let the _Lovely_ know your last moments of life were excruciating and horrible."_

Spike raised the Baton and brought it down on the top of Rokian's skull. Rokian left in his growls of agony. He lowered his head as the ground began to spin. As Spike raised his hand to bring it down again,a distant whirring sound came from seemingly nowhere. The sound suddenly stopped, followed by a low squish thud. Spike let out a soft click. Rokian's head shot up only to be hit with blood. Spike glared down at Rokian. Spike slumped to his side, his favorite weapon embedded into Spike's back. Rokian stood slowly and stared down at the fallen warrior. Rokian kicked Spikes arm to wait for a response. Nothing. Rokian reached in a pouch strapped to his thigh and pulled out a vile of blue substance. He griped the vile firmly with one hand and with the other, placed on the cork. Just as he pulled at it, a gun shot rang out followed by a girl screaming from the direction he left the ooman and Lovely. He stashed the blue goo back into his pouch and took off in the direction the shots were fired from...

---------*----------------------*------------------------*---------------*--------------

The dark shaded man laughed coldly as Aloine rubbed her mouth, checking to see if he broke her jaw.

Vasquez turned his head and hocked his spit onto the floor. He looked back at Amanda who was still standing frozen in fear with both her hands up. He turned back to the alien girl and sneered. He pulled out a small piece of metal in a plastic bag from his coat pocket and dangled in front of her. Aloine recognized it. It was the very tip of a Yautja gauntlet blade.

"What are they? Don't lie to me, either. We have some nice video of them...and you. You certainly can run like an athlete in the Olympics. Now, and remember don't lie, what are they?"

Aloine stared at the paper.

"..my...family."

He let out a frustrated sigh. It was not the answer he was looking for, but it was enough to take her in. He pointed behind himself at Amanda.

"we're gonna go on a little ride, honey. Don't you get any bright ideas, either. I don't think you want to see your little friends brains splattered against the pavement, would you?"

Aloine glanced from Amanda to Vasquez. He pointed at the entrance to the warehouse.

"Start walking. The cars' parked down the street."

Aloine was forced to walk in front with Vasquez behind followed by Rogers and Amanda. Rogers had the gun placed firmly against Amanda's head. His free hand was wrapped around her neck. If anything, the little brat would work as insurance. As they walked, Amanda tried to find any way to alert Aloine's mate. It had to be something loud; like a gunshot. Amanda took a deep breath and stared at the back of Aloine's head. She was a nice girl. She didn't deserve to be tested on or dissected. With that, using all of her acting skills she could muster, She pretended to trip. The antsy Rogers didn't expect the move and shot blindly in the space that a second before was occupied by Amanda's head. Amanda screamed. Vasquez and Aloine turned in surprise.

"Rogers, you fucking idiot! Calm the fuck down! You're gonna get us cau..."

When Rogers lowered his weapon, he saw a fist reach out and connect with his nose. He tumbled backward, landing on his ass. The bitch broke his nose! Who knew a teenage girl could hit so hard?

"You ever point a gun at my baby's head again, I'll fucking kill you!"

Vasquez pulled his gun on Conder, who was now standing between the two men and his daughter.. The tricky bastard. He must have been shadowing them the whole time. He didn't give the old man enough credit. Rogers rolled back and forth wallowing in extreme pain as he held his broken nose. Blood trickled between his fingers. The pain was blinding.

"You just assaulted a government officer and obstructed justice, Conder. I hope you enjoy bread and water."

Conder spit toward him.

"he had it coming."

Vasquez held the gun at Conder and cocked it. Conder in turn held his gun back at him. Rogers continued so cry out in pain as the two men glared at one another. For a second, everything was silent. It wasn't until he heard the alien girl inhale, did it occur to him he had turned his back to his suspect. Just as he turned to confront her, a rusted lead pipe cracked against his skull. The blow had enough force to knock him clear off of his feet. Aloine chucked the pipe behind her and let out her breath.

Conder couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He was unsure as to why, at that moment, it almost seemed appropriate. Amanda was okay. Aloine was alive. Amanda pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around her fathers waist. She buried her head in his chest.

"Daddy! I...I'm..I was so scared! I...I.."

Conder patted his daughter on the head. He then held his hand out to Aloine.

"Was there something you forgot to mention to me? I just came from the other side of the dock where there was two monsters..."

"That was Spike and my mate, Rokian."

Aloine turned away.

"...was my mate."

Amanda removed herself from her father and reached out to her friend.

"Oh, Aloine, I..."

The sound of a gun cocking turned their attention to Rogers who was blindly pointing his gun forward. The edge of his lips were caked with blood and foamy spit. Rogers pointed the gun at Amanda...and pulled the trigger.

*________*_______________*____________*_______*

By the Master Elder's command, two medical personnel came into the arena and very carefully carried the battered human out. Shouts and yells of disapproval as the whipping abruptly stopped and the human was taken away ten shy of fifty lashes. Guriaath once again pounded her staff to quiet the angry mob of yautja. Rokian stumbled to his feet, feeling woozy and slightly nauseous. He turned to see two medical yautja carry a near unconscious lovely away. He turned his head furious, misunderstanding the circumstance. He pulled his fingers into a fist and angrily pointed at his mother, flicking bright green blood in the process.

_"What is the meaning of this? We were almost done! Are you going back on your word?!"_

Guriaath stood and turned toward the door.

_"Nothing has been taken back. We must talk. The rest of you are dismissed. Leave now. __Rokian, see me in my chambers after the medical staff tends to you."_

_"The hell with that! Tell me what's going on?!"_

Guriaath glared at the crowd, now filing out of the arena with shouts of contest and rage. Without looking at her son, she walked into the corridor. Rokian was not happy with being ignored. He jumped for the ledge and, despite being whipped, had enough energy to pull himself up. He pushed passed two guards and ran to catch up with his mother. Guriaath stopped in the empty hallway upon hearing rapid footsteps. She turned to face her son and shook her head.

_"You are trailing blood. I told you to see the med..."_

_"I don't care about me! What did you do with Lovely_? _Why did you stop it? We were both almost there, we were both.."_

_"Your Human is pregnant, Rokian. In all good conscience I could not allow my men to beat a pregnant female."_

Rokian stood with his mouth still open. Lovely was pregnant? How? He had asked the doctor and Lowe believed it to be impossible, even with the alterations. Guriaath turned back and continued to move down the hallway.

"_I will call for Doctor Lowe immediately. He is an expert of human studies. Perhaps he can help your human in this ordeal. I must say, my son, she is much stronger than I thought."_

Rokian watched as his mother disappeared down the hallway. Did what she say mean that she acknowledged Rokian and Lovely as mates? He turned and ran down the hallway, jumped down the arnea and through the tunnel the meds took Lovely. He was so preoccupied with the thoughts of acceptance, he couldn't feel the sting of his flesh wound or the trickles of blood down his back.

---------*---*----------*---------*

Rokian nearly had to be restrained to keep him out of the room Aloine was in. They had placed her on her stomach as a female med slowly cleaned, sewed and covered the lashings all across her back. They also went to work on her shoulder blade that looked as though it had hair line cracks in it. Two meds held Rokian in a sitting position, while another med tried his best to fix his lashings while Rokian moved around.

_"Master Rokian, please stand still! I must finish healing you. These could get infected if not treated."_

_"Let me go! I'm fine, it doesn't even..AARRRRR!!"_

The young med had poured a powerful disinfectant on one flesh wound that sizzled as it killed the bacteria. Rokian twisted his back slightly. He had been stabbed, bitten and even run through the arm once before, but for whatever reason, that shit hurt much worse than any of it. The med apologized and began to sew one particularly deep slice up. One of the female meds holding him down patted his shoulder.

_"I saw what your ooman did. I thought it was brave and terrible romantic. You don't have to worry about her. We have one of our best meds working on her. Doctor Lowe is coming here to help, too. He knows everything about oomans."_

Rokian laughed softly. The lady had no idea how much he actually knew.

____*____*___*___**___**___**_*_

Aloine slowly lifted her head. Her back felt numb. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming and had woken up in Rokian's small room on the ship. It only took a livid look around to realize she really did go through all of it. She felt a hand on her head. Through blurry eyes, she saw Doctor Lowe staring down back at her.

"Welcome back, Miss Aloine. How are you feeling?"

Aloine tried to roll over to her back, when Lowe stopped her.

"That isn't a very wise idea right now. Your back looks mighty bad."

"...W-here...Ro..Rok.."

"Rokian? He's fine. He's in the other room getting patched up. I'm sorry, I would have been here much sooner,but.."

Aloine reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"The..girls..are...Emma...are they...?"

Lowe took a deep breath and placed his hand on her fore head. Aloine's chest constricted.

"I'm...I'm afraid most of the girls did not make it. The only two I managed to find were Miss Emma and Miss Miku. They were hiding under one of the beds. The rest..well, I'm sorry."

Aloine let out a small cry as thick streams of tears burst from her eyes.

"...My fault. It's my fault, I should have waited..I should have.."

"Now, now. Aloine, do not blame yourself. Those girls were victims of circumstance. I was lucky to find Emma and Miku unharmed."

"C-can I..see them?"

Lowe shook his head.

"Nows not the time. They will be asking questions about you and where you were these past two days. You tell them everything you know. But, as far as you know, all the girls are dead and I was never there. Do you understand?"

Aloine simply nodded into her pillow as Lowe smiled and placed a slim mask over his clicked lightly as he scanned her torso. He hovered a hand over her lower back before raising his other hand to click a few buttons on the side of the mask. The vision through the mask enhanced specifically on a small lump in her lower torso. Lowe grimaced at the sight. He lifted the mask and patted the human girl on the head. He gave her a sad smile.

"You're gonna be fine. I'll go get Rokian. I'm sure he's dying to see you again."

Aloine watched as he left the room, then closed her eyes. The nauseous feeling she had felt while being whipped started to finally started to subside. The nauseous feeling she had felt while being whipped was still present. Her stomach had a sharp, stabbing pain as though someone had kicked her as hard as they could. She felt so exhausted. The sound of the door opening forced her attention on a large Yautja standing in the doorway. It was Guriaath. She stood with her hands behind her back. She stood, blank faced, watching the human. Aloine opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, yet no words could slip passed her throat. Guriaath frightened Aloine a little. Without a word or sound, Guriaath glided to the injured girl. She knelt down to be at her eye level.

"Huma...Lovely. I am, to say the least, impressed by your antics. You managed to make it across our city without being noticed, you stood in front of a stadium filled with warriors and you took a punishment head on. You did this...all for my son. You truly are much stronger than I anticipated."

Guriaath stood and reached into a satchel hanging from her neck. She pulled out a sharp, thin crystal. Aloine's breath caught in her lungs. What was she going to do?! Guriaath took Aloine by the uninjured shoulder and softly helped her to stand on her knees. Aloine's head spun at the sudden change of position. Guriaath held the crystal firmly as it began to glow a soft red.

"Forgiveness. I wish this could wait, but there are far too many out there willing to take your life away. My verdict seemed to anger many of the people in the city."

Guriaath placed the hot crystal against the girls skin, where her tattoo was. Aloine winced. She burned two dots and another line, then helped her lay back down onto the operation table. Guriaath pulled a car up to the table and leaned back.

"I must be honest. I'm not too happy about this. Rokian has changed so much from the first time he came back from your planet. He's not as angry or ruthless as before. I can tell you have changed him. Humans have such an odd essence around them that attracts some younger Yautja. This isn't the first time a Yautja fell for your kind or vice versa..."

Guriaath turned her head and stared out of the window to the darkening sky.

"...But, it never seems to work out."

Aloine raised an eye brow. What the hell did 'human' mean and why did she keep calling her that? Guriaath continued to stared through clouded eyes before they widened slightly, then turned her head to Aloine.

"Now, please tell me and don't lie, I would like to know where you were hiding the days during my sons's incarceration. Who was hiding you?"

Aloine forced a burning swallow down her throat. The last thing she wanted to talk about what that filthy place and that horrid Spike.

"I was..taken..._from the ship_..by Spike. He took me to a _place where women_...were used as flesh slaves. A Yautja named Raut...bought me...from Spike."

Guriaath stood and growled. It made Aloine jump suddenly causing her stomach ache to peak momentarily. She placed a hand over her tummy to try and calm it. Guriaath balled her claws into a fist. Raut. That traitorous son of a bitch. Years earlier he was banished from the city for questionable sales. Years ago almost anyone could take humans from Earth and sell them as workers. Raut, however, was too open with what he intended to sell them for. He was a filthy flesh peddle diguised as a distinguished salesman. She knew she should have sentenced him to death, but thought a dishonorable banishment would be shameful enough for him. At least, that's what she believed. Spike, on the other hand, she was shocked to hear. He was a great hunter and always came back from hunts with a trophy or two. Who would have thought that one of the top twenty hunters was a flesh smuggler. She breathed in sharply. To think she had thought her son was one. She looked back down at the frail young woman.

"Go on. Tell me where this place is. Tell me where Raut and Spike are."

Aloine paused for several seconds just to stall so she could get her mind together while keeping Dr. Lowe and the surviving women out of it.

"Raut...is dead. _A yautja suddenly started to attack the others_. He was bleeding from his neck and attacked the other Yautja, the _soft meat_ and Raut. I escaped while everyone was trying to stop the raged man. Spike...I wouldn't know where he'd be hiding."

Guriaath let out an extended sigh. Somewhere in the dead city were dead Yautja and human women. She'd have to send out her best men to retrieve the bodies. She would have to send out her special trackers to find Spike. Great hunter or not, she couldn't have someone who tried to frame her son walking around freely. Even if Rokian did smuggle her on board, he had no intension of letting anyone else have her except him. As she turned to leave, she carefully brushed a stand of Aloine's hair out of her face.

"It's amazing. Tell Dr. Lowe he did a fantastic job on you."

Aloine tilted her head slightly as she watched Guriaath leave. She clutched her stomach with both hands as the pain steadily began to rise. She didn't get it. What did that mean?

----------------*-----------*-----------------*----

Dr. Lowe found Rokian pacing back and forth down the hallway from where they kept Aloine. Rokian's eyes perked up at seeing the Doctor. He ran to him, smiling.

_"How's Aloine doing? Is she okay? How about the baby?"_

Lowe frowned. He didn't know Rokian already knew. He wasn't sure exactly how to say what he had to tell him. Rokian was surprised by Dr. Lowe's somber appearance.

_"Why the long face? You should be just as happy as I am! Your experiments worked better than you originally thought! _Lovely's _Pregnant!" _

_"...Was pregnant."_

Rokian froze in his spot.

_"Wa..what do you mean? My mother said she was..."_

_"Your mother only saw the fetus from far away. I studied every inch of it. I..I'm sorry, Rokian. But, the child in Aloine's womb is deceased. It had not signs of life whatsoever. I must remove it immediately or it will kill Miss _Aloine_. I'm so sorry, Rokian."_

For the first time in his entire life, Rokian actually wanted to cry. What kind of a sick joke was this? Could nothing good happen to his Lovely? Why was this happening?! He fell to his knees and hunched over.

_" Does Lovely know?! Are...you sure our child is dead?"_

Lowe squatted in front of Rokian and rested a hand on the young warrior's shoulder.

_" No, I believe Miss Aloine has suffered enough. And, as for the child, I'm afraid so. It must have happened from the stress or the abuse she took the days before. The baby looks like a four week old. I don't think a human's womb is strong enough to support a full term Yautja child. That may be another reason as to why the child passed. But, we don't have any time to waste. I must go and prep Aloine for surgery to remove the child..."_

Rokian stood and stared off at the direction of Lovely's room.

_"I want to talk to her."_

The doctor pulled himself up with his cane and shook his head.

_"Rokian. You cannot tell her about the child..."_

_"You're asking me to lie to her. I can't keep doing that. I feel horrible enough letting you do all of those experiments on her. Now you tell me to not tell her about her own child?!"_

_"It has already passed away. Why let the girl suffer even more with the knowledge she allowed herself to be whipped while she was pregnant? Or, perhaps, that the whipping itself may, indeed, have caused the death? Would you really wish that kind of horrid weight on her shoulders?!"_

Rokian turned away and placed his large claw over his eyes. Lowe circled around Rokian to face him.

_"I cannot wait another second. Every second the body stays in your mate, the more it is likely she can die of infection, bleed internally or go into labor without warning signs. I'm going to prep her. I highly suggest you stay here. It shouldn't take long..."_

Rokian nearly chocked on his own words.

_"Could...could I, at least, hold the child afterwards?"_

Lowe shook his head as he quickly walked down the hallway, signaling two meds to follow him. Rokian placed his back against the wall and slowly slid down it.

-----------*------------*-------------*--------------*----------

It took longer than Rokian had originally anticipated. When it came time for Lowe to come out and wave him into the room, Rokian was beginning to wonder if his original statement was the right one. He knew he'd fall in love with the child and to know he could never see it grow up was a pain almost too much to bare. The door shut and locked behind him. Lowe had his back to him, before turning around with a small wrapped up blue blanket in his hands. He reluctantly handed the wrapped blanket to Rokian. With shaking hands, Rokian slowly pulled back the blanket to reveal his first born child. Rokian's heart sank to the pit of his cleared his throat before walking toward the door.

_"I'm going to check on miss _Aloine_. I'll give you a minute."_

Rokian never heard the doctor or even noticed that he left. All he could do was stare at his child. Lowe was kind enough to wash the tiny baby. It was no bigger than his palm. Rokian fell to his knees and slowly wrapped the baby. He sat on his legs and cradled it in his arms.

_"Forgive me, little one. I could not protect your mother. If I had, you would still be safe and warm with your mother. Forgive me. Please forgive me."_

Rokian had never felt such a deep, seeding pain in his entire life. It hurt worse than his father's death or his sister's death combined. He could have prevented it. He could have taken the lashes. He sould have fought the ruling WHY didn't he fight his mother's ruling?! He very gently placed the baby on the operation table. As he turned to leave, he gave the blanket one last look before leaving the room. This was his fault. His weight, He would not allow Lovely to feel responsible. At that moment he vowed to never let a single tear of sorrow roll down Lovely's cheek again...and to kill those who would cause it.


	23. You lied to me

**Sorry it's been taking a bit to finish this story. I've had major writers block. This was originally going to be the last chapter, followed by a epilogue, but it looks like the NEXT chapter will be the last one. I wrote and rewrote this chappie, too...I really want to finish this one so I can start a new predator fan fic...so, hopefully The next chapter I'll have everything tied up and ready to finish. Thanks for all of you who stuck around.**

Jovi paced back and forth on the outskirts of the city. What the hell was Spike thinking bringing his so called 'evidence' into the trial? He was suppose to be selling that ooman and laying low. What was his problem? She ringed her hands thinking about what happened She had slinked toward the back of the arena after the girl jumped stupidly jumped in front of her dear Rokian. Jovi stayed there until she heard Master Guriaath's ruling. Out of all the Yautja in the galaxy, she was so sure the Master Elder would see things through a clear and logical light. How dead wrong she was. Jovi dug her claw into the back of her other hand. She had taken over him. That ooman had done something to Rokian; drugged him, infected him with a disease...something! He wasn't himself. That was made obvious by the way Rokian treated her in the holding cell. She just could not wrap her head around the very idea of Rokian not wanting herself as a mate. The sound of heavy breathing caught her attention. Spike was sauntering toward her; all color drained from his face. By the looks of him, he had been running. He walked passed her in a brisk walk, heading for the dead city. Jovi was annoyed by his frank blow off. She took a step toward him.

_"You were suppose to sell her to a flesh peddler! How could you show up with the oomans clo-"_

_"Fuck off." _, He said in a very 'matter of fact' growl.

Jovi's mandibles flared.

_"How dare you!"_

She began to follow him, much to his dismay. He stopped suddenly, glaring up at her.

_"What?!"_

_"I thought we had an agreement! You were suppose to sell her to-"_

_"I DID!! I sold her to the cruelest flesh peddler I know! I'm going to find out HOW she got out of the building. After that, I'm getting the hell off this planet."_

Jovi inhaled sharply. He was going to run from his crimes instead of facing them as any honorable Yautja would do. Spike turned and continued down the deserted path.

_"I'd take off too, if I were you. That ooman is going to tell Guriaath everything."_

_"Y-you can't run! If anyone ever finds you, you'll be executed!"_

Spike waved his hand behind him.

_"That's why I'm leaving, idiot. I'll be killed either way." _

Within another minute, Spike became a small spec on the horizon. Jovi thought about Spike's words. She knew Guriaath's curiosity about the ooman would eventually peakand when that happened, the girl would have no reason not to tell the Elder EVERYTHING. Rokian would also probably say something, too. Jovy turned to the thriving city she had called home all of her life. She wiped a budding tear from her eye. She had made her decision. She wasn't going to run...just hide.

-----------------*---------------*-------------------*----------------*----------------*-------

It took several weeks before Aloine was able to walk or move without the fear of splitting the scabbed lashings. Guriaath had ordered the cuts on Aloines back to heal naturally instead of speed healing. That way, they would be more likely to scar.

"_The scars," _Ordered Guriaath,"_...are a sign a strength. She withstood lashings from a Yautja without fear. Let them heal with minimal aid."_

After his mother's ruling, Rokian, too, refused a speed heal. He wouldn't to hide what he went through, not that he would have been able to. He could hear whispers about the Master Elder's son that refused to take his own kind as a mate. If it had been any other Yautja, the Master Elder would have killed them both. He ignored the whispers. He was proud of his decision....most of his decisions. He was still uncomfortable with having to lie to Lovely about her child. He frequently questioned himself on whether or not Lowe was right.

Rokian leaned his back against the wall. He ran a claw through Aloine's soft locks. At least they wouldn't have to worry about Spike. It would only be a matter of time before they found him. The only problem now was Jovi. Despite all she put him through, he still felt uneasy about losing someone whom he'd know since he was a pup. He still, for the life of him, could not understand why she went through such drastic lengths just to try to be his mate. It was against their mating customs. The male usually chased the female, not the other way around. Then again, it was not their mating custom to take a native from another planet as a mate, either.

Lovely stirred in her sleep before her eyes fluttered open. She looked all around the unfamiliar room before looking at Rokian with a questionable look. Rokian chuckled.

"_You're wondering where we are? Well, doctor Lowe said you were okay to transport. I moved you to my quarters. We're not far from the city. You'll be safe here. I have my own set of guards. Not as many as my mother, but enough to keep the ignorant ones away."_

Lovely sat up with the aid of Rokian. Her stomach hurt just a bit, though she dismissed it as hunger. She studied the huge bedroom. She sat on a crimson colored bed next to Rokian. The walls were a deep brown stone with a set of doors leading out to a balcony. The room was completely bare with the exception of a stone fire place and a small table with two chairs on either side. Rokian ran his fingers through her hair as she turned to smile at him.

"We're at....this is your home?"

Rokian slid his thumb up and down her cheek and nodded.

"Our...home."

Lovely placed her hand over his and kissed his palm. It sent lightening bolts down his spine. It was almost dangerous what she did to him. She smiled brightly as she laid her head back on the pillow.

"Our home..."

---*---*------

Spike cursed out loud as he slowly stepped over bodies of comrades and ooman women. How the hell did this happen? He came across one particular Yautja he recognized, but did not know personally. He had, what looked like, a broken piece of thin wood jammed into his throat.

_"Sneaky little bitch. I should have known..."_

Spike slowly bent down onto one knee and yanked the wood piece out of the Yautja's neck and sniffed it. He cringed. All he could smell was the blood and overload of hormones. He flung the wood piece behind him before making his way to the back room. At the end of the long hallway, laid Milena. He shook his head.

_**"**__Fuck. All the best lays..."_

The sound of footsteps turned his attention to the only exit. One look at the armor they were wearing, he knew they were Guiraath's guards. Spike took a deep breath and waited until one noticed him. There was no point in trying to run. The only exit was blocked and he was vastly outnumbered. .

----*-------*------

Doctor Lowe decided the best thing for Aloine that he would erase Miku and Emma from her memories. They were alive and being well taken care of by the good doctor, but he feared it would be far too suspicious if she continued to visit him just to visit the girls. The more intelligent Yautja would be able to put two and two together with her appearance and her visits. Rokian protested the manipulation, but, as he tried his best to explain to Miku and Emma, it was for the best. It was the only way to insure the two girls safety and his own neck.

Miku and Emma were allowed to see Aloine one last time. They reassured her they were happy and didn't blame her for what happened.

"Maybe...", Miku tried to explain, "Maybe it's for the best. I mean, living that life by force was horrible and a lot of girls couldn't take it."

"Doctor Lowe is taking really good care of us. I promise. It's the first night I've been able to sleep the night through."

The three girls were only allowed a short period to talk before Lowe decided it was time for Aloine to leave. Miku and Emma forced a smile. Aloine waved at them.

"I'll come by when I can, okay?"

"..yeah. We'll see you."

Emma wiped her eyes and hugged her, knowing she'd never see the strange girl again. She put her lips close to Aloine's ear; talking just above a whisper.

"Take care of yourself, okay? Don't let anyone jerk you around. You deserve to be happy. Even if you don't remember us, we'll remember you."

Lovely pulled away with one eye brow lifted. How could she ever forget them?

The two girls watched through a window as Aloine and Rokian were led back to their home along with three guards. Emma pressed her hand against the cool glass. It didn't feel right. Poor Aloine...Lovely. Whoever she was. Everyone has a right to know who they really are.

----*------*--------*

Rokian followed two guards as they led him down a very familiar stone hallway leading to his, once, jail cell. The occupant sat on the floor, not acknowledging his new company. Rokian folded his arms and dismissed the guards. The two Yautja waited in silence until a chuckle escaped from behind the bars.

_"So, you came to watch me suffer in this place, eh?"_

Rokian unfolded his arms and approached the cell.

_"I don't understand why you're surprised to be here, Spike. What you did was-"_

_"Oh, you are so full of shit. You are no different from me."_

Rokian balled his hand into a fist.

_"I am nothing like you! You took breeders forcefully, and used them!"_

_"Heh. How is that different from what you did with your 'mate'?"_

Rokian chose to ignore Spike's last comment.

_"Why did you ask to see me?"_

_"To prove your just like me."_

Rokian let out a low growl.

_"Heh, heh. You can try all you like to deny it, Rokian, it's true. I know all about the 'oomans' enhancements. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice the difference in appearance. I bet she didn't walk onto our ship or asked to be experimented on and I can guarantee you initiated, oh, what do the oomans call it?...popping her cherry..."_

Rokian mandibles flared.

_"Shut the hell up! You know nothing! I am nothing like you and I will never be! Enjoy your well deserved life in this hell hole."_

Spike laughed, watching Rokian stomp away. Oh, he struck a nerve, that was sure.Spike stood and stared out the six inch crack in the wall that served as a window. He was going to sit back and bide his time. He would escape and find the one responsible for putting him there. He would find a way and when he did, he was going to kill her. He was going to kill Rokian's ooman...

----*----*---*----

It had been many years since Guriaath's ruling. During that time, Lovely had undergone some changes. Rokian and two of his comrades had gone hunting with Lovely through a neighboring planet for fun. After several hunts, his comrades warmed up to Lovely and even, with her permission, gave her different burn tattoos signifying her status as a hunter. Although, truthfully, they did it out of a joke, neither one of them could sustain a straight face when she showed such excitement. She was quite the charming ooman.

The time had finally come to go on the annual hunt on Earth. Rokian thought it would be for the best if she stayed behind, but Lovely refused.

_"I want to go with you!"_

_"This hunt you can't. It's dangerous...and complicated."_

_"Rokian, please! I'll go crazy if you're gone for months! Please? I'll stay in your room. I won't go hunting with you. Please! I just want to be with you."_

Rokian smiled and, reluctantly, agreed. He silently hoped his younger comrades wouldn't bring an intact ooman head on board.

---*----*--------*----------*-----

Lovely followed behind Rokian as they approached the hunting ship. Supplies were being carried and pushed in on carts onto the ship. Lovely couldn't help but let out a 'wow'. She had never seen the bigger cargo ships. All the ones she had been one were nowhere near as huge. Over the crowds of young hunters, Rokian heard his name being called. He stopped Lovely and turned to the source. It was Doctor Lowe. As he approached the two, it was fairly obvious by the look on face, what he was bringing was not good news.

_"Good morning Doctor Lowe. What's the matter?"_

Aloine smiled and waved to him. He gave her a shocked look. The human looked the same since the last time he visited the house years ago. Both Miku and Emma aged considerably, yet Aloine remained young. The good doctor grinned. He really was brilliant! It seemed he found a human fountain of youth. Rokian tilted his head slightly.

_"Doctor Lowe? Did you hear me? What's the matter?"_

Lowe shook his head.

_"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. Miss Aloine, you are looking very well today. Uh, Rokian I need to speak with you...alone."_

Rokian looked back to his Lovely.

_"Go on ahead, Lovely. We're on the fourth floor. Our room will have my name by the door."_

Lovely nodded and walked up the ramp and onto the ship. Rokian turned and smiled.

_"Now, what's so wrong you couldn't talk in front of her?"_

_"Spike has escaped."_

Rokian's smile faded. His eyes darted around the docking bay, then back to Lowe.

_"When?!"_

_"Early this morning while the guards were changing shifts. Guriaath's guards have been on high alert. I tried to catch you at home, but your guards said you had already left. You know...Spike might go after..."_

_"I know. I'm glad she pitched a fit to come with me. Thank you, Lowe. I hope they find him before we come back."_

The two Yautja shook hands before Rokian ran up the ramp to catch up with Lovely.

----*------*------*-----

The long ride to Earth was normally a boring wait, but this time around, it was much more enjoyable. Since Rokian had become a high ranking hunter, he had no responsibilities on the ship. Rokian mused at the much larger room he was given since the last time around. The bed was larger, it had it's own shower, rest room and a bigger window. Being a high ranking warrior sure had it's perks. He laid across the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the shower. They were getting closer to Earth, with no sign of Spike. He had been worried Spike somehow snuck his way onto the ship, but after a month and a thorough search of the ship, he relaxed.

The water to the shower stopped and, after a moment, Lovely stepped into the room, wearing nothing but a towel. Rokian lifted a mandible in thought. He cleared his throat to get her attention. She coyly smiled at him, wringing her hair out.

_"Hm? Rokian!" _

Rokian approached her and guided her to the bed. He pulled the towel off his human and tossed it carelessly to his side. He lowered himself onto her, pushing his hips into hers. She let out a shy moan as he fiddled with his loin cloth, freeing himself from a, now, restricting piece of clothing. It didn't take much for Lovely to arouse him. She lifted her legs onto either side of his hips as he pushed against his mate.

Oh, yes. This time around the trip to Earth would be much more enjoyable.

----*------*--------*--------

The tall Yautja stayed close to the shadows, watching Rokian begin to dress for the hunt. The docking room was empty for all of the other hunters had already left for their hunt. The tall Yautja smirked. The idiots looked all over the ship, making sure he hadn't boarded, but, as they had seemed to forget, he smuggled ooman girls constantly. He had more hiding areas in the ship than he could count.

Rokian had felt a small wave of anticipation. Despite taking a ooman girl as a mate, he still enjoyed the thrill of hunting her kind. It excited him at a primal level. He placed another weapon on his belt and gleamed. He was going to take Lovely on one of the hunts. He had even made her her own special armor, which he hid in his pod. After looking at it, he decided to remove the self destruct on the gauntlet. She wasn't ready for that, but she was ready to hunt. He decided to take her to the continent that was mostly desert and animals. She could eventually learn to hunt big game. He placed his favorite helmet over his head, clicking a sequence of buttons on his gauntlet by touch alone, to sync the two together. The screen made a soft 'buzz' noise as it booted up. As it came into focus, it immediately locked on to a tall figure standing in front of him. Before he had any moment to react, he felt a needle pierce his neck. Rokian ripped the mask from his face to come face to face with Spike.

_"Spike!? You...how did you..."_

Spike smirked as Rokian threw a punch, missing him by many inches. Earlier in the day, he had broken into Doctor Lowe's quarters, taking the wonderful little concoction that could put a queen Xenomorph to sleep. Whatever it was, it knocked Rokian out in a matter of seconds.

_"Stay..awa...from..Lo..."_

Spike let out a metallic, throaty laugh as he squatted down besides the nearly unconscious Yautja.

_"aw, don't you worry about your ooman, Rokian. She'll be just fine. In fact, I think I'll go check on her..."_

Spike grabbed another mask from the wall, bringing it down onto Rokian's skull. He then picked the comrade and helmet up and laid him in one of the last pods. Spike manually typed in the destination from outside of the pod...the ocean. The doors hissed shut and locked before the pod disconnected from the ship and rushed to the blue planet below. Spike watched as the black pod grew red from entering the planet's atmosphere.

_"Have a pleasant swim, Rokian."_

---*----*---*------*----

Lovely awoke with a start. Her eyes shifted around the room. Rokian wasn't there.

_"Oh, no!"_

He was suppose to wake her when he was leaving for the hunt. How could he forget? Lovely ran down the hall and up the stairwell to the seventh floor. She pushed the sliding doors open and ran into the dimly lighted area. She walked to the end of the line of pods, then turned around only to be met with Rokian in full gear. He was wearing his favorite mask. She let out a relieved sigh.

_"Oh, good. I thought you left without.."_

Rokian...was different. He looked taller and, although it was dim in the room, his skin tone looked darker as well. She suddenly began to feel slightly uncomfortable. She pointed past him.

_"Well, um, Good luck on your hunt...I'm just gonna...go back to the room."_

When she tried to walk by him, Rokian moved to stand in her way. Lovely backed up a little.

_"This..isn't funny. Rokian..!"_

'Rokian' tilted his head. She tried for a second time only to be met with two broad hands shoving her backwards onto the ramp. Lovely scooted backwards as Rokian made his approach. What was his problem all of a sudden? The Yautja reached down, wrapping his massive hand around her throat, lifting her high off the ground. Lovely kicked and clawed at his hands, before kneeing him in the throat. His mask sprang off his face, landing at his feet. He released Lovely, letting her hit the steel floor. She coughed, holding her throat and staring up at her attacker.

_"...s..Spike?!"_

He didn't say a word, only growled at her. As he reached down to her again, he was met with a helmet cracking across his jaw. He fell to one knee as Lovely dropped the helmet and crawled to one of the escape pods. She reached up and blindly hit buttons, unknowingly hitting coordinations for a destination. Just as she hit the 'close door' button, she felt a massive, metal object hit the back of her head. Spike had thrown the mask, trying to knock her out before she had a chance to get away. Aloine fell backwards, landing on her back. She stared at Spike through the clear door, as he scratched and clawed the sealed door. She heard a loud whirring sound as he pod pushed off into the blackened space. Her eyes became heavy lidded as she slipped into an uncertain unconsciousness.

----*----*----

Spike panicked, watching the pod containing the ooman, fall aimlessly to Earth. Spike entered the very last of the six pods, bringing up the last pods destination. The computer brought up the words: "mimic last destination? yes/no?" Spike finger traced a very long, sharp knife attached to his belt and clicked softly.

Y-E-S

---*---*---*--*--

Aloine awoke in a fog of confusion. She couldn't remember where she was or how she got there. She slowly pulled herself onto her hands and knees. She remembered Rokian...and getting hit...then something about....Spike. She circled her temples with her index fingers. Her head was pounding. Why would Rokian send her here? All alone...Why would her shove her to the ground..and...Her hand traced along something metal. She looked down. It was armor. Still confused and as if from instinct, Lovely put the armor on along with the mask. Where ever she was, she'd have to find out why she was there. She clicked a few buttons by the exit door before it struggled to open. Lovely stepped out and surveyed the area. It was heavily wooded, she was unsure if the air was toxic or not, but she wasn't about to find out. She took a deep breath, tried her best to gather her wits, and began to walk.

---*---*---*--

Lovely was, by all means, confused. She had been on this planet for only a few days before she came across a large cluster of creatures....The oddest thing of all was...they looked...they looked like her. She scaled the concrete buildings, watching these things...oh, what did Guriaath call her...what was it? She watched them from afar before coming across a building that had several creatures, all dressed the same, going in and out at all hours of the day. They carried weapons and brought different creatures into the building, almost always with their hands incapacitated. In her world, there were only a hand full of Yautja who carried weapons at all times...and they were the Master Elder's guards. She began to wonder if they had information on the other creatures living in this concrete jungle. Guiraath did, it was possible they had too. She jumped onto the roof of the guard building, before scaling down the side of it. She strained slightly. The armor was still heavy to her. She didn't get a chance of getting use to walking around in it, after all. She came across a room. It was barred from the outside, but from what she could see, it was filled with boxes that were filled with pictures. Exactly what she was looking for! Lovely grabbed a hold of the bars and with one swift pull, she yanked two of the bars out of their sockets. She tossed the bars behind her haphazardly before shoving her fist through the glass, triggering a silent alarm. Aloine slipped into the room, immediately pouring through the pages. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but if she was the same as these things, she wanted to know why.

---*-----*----*

Micheal Conder released his gun from it's holster as he inched toward the door of the missing persons/ cold case room. He reached for the knob and turned it silently. As he entered, he saw a suspect with his back to him, ripping pictures out of boxes and looking around the room. Conder raised his gun to the suspect.

"Alright freeze!"

The suspect turned around and...growled at him.

"Don't move...I said DON'T MOVE!!"

The suspect must have had a hearing problem because instead of listening to him, the man ran and jumped out of the window. Conder ran to the window, watching momentarily as the suspect ran down the alley. Conder then, turned on his heel and took off out the door. He was positively stunned the suspect jumped from a third story and wasn't hurt. Conder pushed his way through the station and out the front door, yelling to the other cops to send back up. Unfortunately for Conder, the station was so busy, no one heard what he had said.

----*---*-----*----

Amanda let out a gut wrenching scream as she watched her father slump backward, holding his chest. Seconds before, Rogers pulled a gun on her. Without a second thought, her father stepped between her and Rogers and took the bullet. Panic swept over her as she hovered over her father, screaming, "Daddy!"

Aloine stared in absolute horror at what she just witnessed. She turned her attention to Rogers whom still had his gun pointing at Amanda and her father. Conder reached up and patted Amanda on the cheek.

"It's okay, baby.."

Blind rage took over her senses. Aloine reached down and picked up the pipe she had socked Vasquez with. She pulled the pipe behind her. He was going to pay! Rogers noticed her intension's and swung the gun to face her. He squeezed the trigger. A very large hand took Rogers by the wrist and squeezed it until not only did Rogers drop the gun, the large man shattered his wrist. Amanda let out another scream at the horrible noise. Aloine felt her breath catch and stick in her throat. Standing only a couple feet away, was Rokian.

He released Rogers long enough to allow three sharp dagger-like spears to eject from his gauntlet. He pulled Rogers up by his throat. Aloine's head snapped over to Amanda, who stared fear stricken and unknowing as to what was going to happen next. As Rokian raised his gauntlet to the mans neck, Aloine slid to Amanda and covered her eyes just as Rokian decapitated Rogers in one slice. Rokian hooked the head to his belt. A fine trophy.

He stared down at the three oomans. Amanda pushed Aloine's hand away from her eyes and focused on her father. Conder waved a hand lightly in front of his face. Amanda wiped the trail of tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, dad! I'm so sorry! I've been such a horrible kid. Please, dad, I'm so..."

Rokian scanned the ooman male laying on the floor. Why were they getting so worked up? He was fine... Conder pulled himself up on his elbow, one hand still over the bullet wound.

"Baby, really, it's okay..."

He dug into the hole and retrieved the bullet.

"...It just...knocked the wind out of me."

It was only then Amanda had realized he wasn't bleeding. Amanda let out a deep breath as she took both sides of her father's shirt and ripped it open. A bullet proof vest. The rain had slowly started to drizzle again as Conder laughed. Amanda punched his arm.

"Ow...What was that for? You know, it still hurts when you get shot even if you have one of these on."

Amanda wiped fresh tears from her eyes.

"That...that wasn't fair. I really thought...I mean, you stepped right in front of a bullet...I really thought you were...going to die. Why would you ever...do that?"

Conder patted his daughter's cheek.

"Hey, you're a pain, but you're still my baby girl."

"Dad..."

Aloine felt so relieved knowing Conder ooman would be okay. She felt a warm, large hand rest on her shoulder. She turned to face Rokian. Conder's eyes widened at the sight of very large creature now standing only feet away.

"Oh....boy."

Rokian tilted his head and raised his hand to brush her cheek. Aloine's forehead wrinkled as she slapped his hand away and stepped back.

_"Don't touch me!"_

Rokian froze in his place; his hand still up by his shoulder.

_"Lo..lovely?!"_

Rokian took a step toward her only for her to shadow him and take another step back.

_"That is NOT my NAME! I'm _Aloine Grey Banks!_ Rokian, how could you?!__ You lied to me. You lied to me about EVERYTHING! My life, my friends, my father! I...I hate you!"_

Amanda slowly helped her father to his feet. Aloine looked over at them, then back to Rokian. Twin streams of tears fell down Aloine's cheeks. Rokian stared painfully at his mate as she turned away.

"I'm going home."

Without another word, Aloine took off in the direction of her apartment. Rokian stood with his eyes closed and head hung. She said...she hated him. Amanda very carefully inched toward him. She pointed in the direction Aloine took off. She cleared her throat, almost jumping out of her skin when the creature's head snapped up to look at her.

"Uhh..um...aren't you going to go after her?"

He turned his head away.

"Why...?"

Amanda dropped her arm, dumbfounded.

"Why?! What do you mean, 'why'? Do you know what kind of people are out at this hour?!"

Rokian's answer was just a simple growl. Lovely wasn't weak. She stomped her foot down.

"You men are all alike!"

Amanda took off after Aloine. Maybe that Rokian guy didn't care if something happened to Aloine, but she did! Conder hollered at her as he chased after her.

"Hey, wait! I'm not as young as you. Slow down!"

Rokian watched the two oomans disappear into the drizzling rain. What was the human girls problem? Lovely said where she was going. It wasn't as though he was uncaring, it took every ounce of his being from stopping Lovely. He reached into a little pouch attached to his utility belt, once again retrieving the glowing blue vial. He poured the thick goo over the two men. It bubbled as it burned the flesh and bone, leaving nothing but a viscus black goo that began to melt through the concrete. He placed the cap back on the vial. There was one more creature he had to dispose of.


	24. Bitter Sweet

**I'm not gonna lie...I had to push myself through this final chapter. I've kinda lost love for this fic, but I am finishing it the way I intended years back. Thank you all who stuck it out and waited patiently for this final chapter.**

**---*---*---*_-*_ **

Amanda stood in the,now, broken in door of Aloine's apartment. Aloine had kicked in the door after finding it locked. Conder looked up and down the hallway before pushing his daughter into the apartment. Amanda surveyed the living room-kitchen area as her father propped the door against the doorway. The apartment was in a sad and dilapidated state. The flower wallpaper was yellowed, stained and peeling from the wall. The carpet was black from lack of care. Dishes caked with rotted food, piled high in the sink and smelled as though something had died somewhere within the pile. Roaches scurried across the floor, fleeing Amanda's footsteps. Other furniture was caked with dust; the whole room looked like it hadn't been touched in months. Amanda put her hands over her mouth and nose. Conder followed by sticking his nose against his shirt cuff.

"It smells horrible! What happened to Aloine's apartment?"

Conder placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Her father has been very sick. He's been in the hospital for a while now. I think the only reason the superintendent hasn't evicted him is because he's waiting for the poor man to d-"

A light flickered on down the narrow hallway, making Aloine's presence known. Both Conder and Amanda slowly made their way down the hallway. As they stepped into the light, they both let out a soft gasp. The bedroom they were now standing in was in immaculate condition. The carpet was bright orange, the paint on the walls looked crisp and bright. It was the epitome of the early seventies. Everything was in place; it was like walking into a time warp. Aloine stood by the closet; her back to them. She was no longer wearing the sun dress Amanda gave her. She was now wearing a long robin egg blue dress. Aloine was holding several pieces of paper in her hand.

"My...my dad never stopped believing I'd come home."

Amanda felt a lump in her throat begin to rise. Aloine turned slowly to face them and held the paper out in front of her.

"He wrote to me...every day. These were on my bed. He even bought me school clothes. He kept my recital dress. He kept my room clean and just as I left it. He thought...I was coming back."

Aloine tugged on the side of her dress before releasing the paper from her grip; letting them fall where they may. Both Amanda and Conder had no words to say. What could they say? The whole scene was almost too heartbreaking to stand. Aloine walked to her dresser and pulled off a picture taped on the mirror. It was a picture of herself, much younger, sitting in the arms of her mother and father. It was the only time they could afford a professional family photo. She tucked the picture in a small pocket of the dress just below the breast line. She then stared at herself in the mirror. She looked nothing like she remembered or what she believed to look like. She stared at the burn scars, the long ratty hair and color of her skin. She didn't look or feel human. It was right then that Amanda realized Aloine was holding a carving knife. She nudged her father and pointed at the rusted knife. Conder raised his hand toward Aloine.

"Aloine...give me the knife. I know that this is hard and I can't begin to understand what you're going through but, please..."

Aloine smiled sadly at him and shook her head.

"Conder-ooman. You misunderstand."

With that, Aloine bundled her hair in one hand and with the other sliced off the long locks of hair. Her hair, that had once reached down to her backside was now laying shoulder length. Amanda let out a relieved sigh as Conder softly pulled the knife from Aloine's grip. Aloine placed the locks on the dresser and stared at her feet.

"Conder-ooman...Mr. Conder...I...want to see my father. Why isn't he here?"

Conder glanced at Amanda, then sighed.

"He wouldn't be here, Aloine. Your father is very sick. He's in a hospital."

Aloine's eyes narrowed to fight the incoming tears.

"Then I'm going to see him!"

She pushed passed the two, only to be stopped back Conder grabbing her arm.

"Wait. I'll take you to him."

"I can't let you get involved anymore, Conder-ooman. I'm not your responsibility!"

Conder released her arm.

"You became my responsibility when I first started chasing you all around this damn city. Come on. Let me take you. There are too many hospitals in this city for you to check every one."

Aloine inhaled and held it for a moment before letting out a breathy 'Okay'.

* * *

Rokian stood in silent disbelief. He had left Spike's body where he now stood. It was RIGHT here. His head snapped nervously back and forth, searching for a trail to his whereabouts. He caught a small drop of blood in his peripheral. He knelt by the droplet. His eye then caught another one. This blood drop was at the edge of the dock. Rokian stood at the waters edge, staring into the black abyss. Spike had fled. Rokian couldn't imagine him lasting very long in the icy waters; not with the wounds he sustained. Rokian let out an aggravated sigh. As much as he hated the thought of letting Spike go, his mind was on a ooman girl that needed to be retrieved. He clicked a few buttons on his gauntlet, sending out a homing signal. He was ready to get off the planet with his mate and leaving, if he managed to survive, Spike to die in the freezing ocean water.

-----*----**-----

It wasn't until they reached the bottom of the stairs that Conder realized his car was still parked blocks away. He let out a defeated laugh and used his cell phone to call a cab. They all piled into the old, cramped cab as Conder fed directions to the driver. As they drove, Amanda used what little foundation she had on her to cover the burn tattoos on Aloine's face, neck and arms. Her father hadn't seen Aloine in years and Amanda didn't want, what could be, the last image of his daughter all tattooed and scarred up.

The cab slowed to a dead stop in front of a large hospital. Conder paid the cabbie and they all preceded inside the building. Aloine squinted at the bright, over head lights of the hospital hallways. Conder patted the two girls on the shoulder.

"Wait here. I'm gonna find a nurse, okay? Don't wander off."

Conder jogged lightly down the hallway toward a nurses station, leaving the two girls standing in the waiting room. Amanda sat down, then stood. She was still a nervous wreck from earlier. She couldn't shake the image of the two men's lifeless corpses; not to mention Aloine's...mate. She turned to Aloine, who hadn't moved an inch since Conder left.

"Your mate knows not to come into a public place, right? I mean, the way he looks...it can cause a mass panic and..."

"I don't care what he does. I just want to see my father."

Before Amanda could say anything, her father poked his head in the waiting room.

"Come on, girls. We have to take the elevator to the fourth floor."

*-----*-----

"I..can't do it."

Aloine stood in front of the door separating her and her father. Conder ran his fingers through his thinning hair.

"Look, Aloine, we came all this way. Would you rather him die without seeing you again? Could you stand never seeing him again?"

Aloine stared at the door. A knot began growing in her throat.

"I'm not the little girl he remembers. I look nothing like I did then."

Amanda placed her hands on Aloine's shoulders.

"Go see him, Aloine. He's been waiting for you for over twenty years. Don't worry, we'll right outside the door."

Aloine took a deep breath and pushed down on the door handle. She slowly sank into the room, letting the door close on it's own. A curtain was pulled around the only bed in the room. A soft, rhythmic beeping noise was slightly overlapping the raspy breathing of the beds occupant. Aloine approached sheet and gripped the edge tightly, before slowly pulling it back. She averted her eyes for several moments after staring that the crippled man laying in the bed. He had so many tubes surrounding him, in his arm, a breathing mask and several bed sores. Aloine felt as though she'd vomit. He was wasting away; his face was thin and twisted in a pained way. He appeared to be sleeping. Aloine approached his bed and knelt down besides him; taking his hand into hers. Her throat was dry and her vision became blurry from the tears that were now flowing down her pale cheeks. She squeezed his hand, bringing him out of his dreams. He groaned into the face mask and forced his eye lids to open. Aloine stood and leaned over him.

"D-dad?"

He took in several breaths before his eyes shot open wide.

"A...alo.."

He could barely speak, but the escalated beeping of the heart monitor seemed to say it all. He began to breath deep as he lifted his shaky arm and placed his hand on her cheek. Tears instantly formed across his eyes as he stroked his missing daughter's cheek. He smiled wide and let out a raspy chuckle.

"Hi..honey. I... I knew you'd ..come back. Are...are you here to..to take me to heaven?"

His words were slow and hard to make out. Aloine went from tears to sobs. She forced a smile and squeezed his hand.

"Y-yeah. I'm...I'm here to make sure...you don't lost along the way. You have a very special place in heaven, dad."

Her father closed his eyes and took in a shallow breath.

"Oh, that's wonderful...I can't wait to see your mom. I'm sure...she's excited to see me."

Aloine wiped her her cheeks.

"Yeah. S-she...she really is. I love you, dad."

He opened his tired eyes and lowered his hand from her cheek. He closed his eyes once more and coughed.

"I..love you..too. I...I wonder...what heaven..is...like...I...hear..it's............"

*--------*--------*

Amanda sat next to Aloine in the empty waiting room. She had her legs pulled up to her chest; her forehead resting on her knees. She hadn't said one word since her father had passed away. Aloine was in her fathers room for a little under an hour before nurses went running into the room. They made no attempt to resuscitate him under his consent. Conder had been on a pay phone with the chief since Aloine first entered her fathers room. Amanda jumped suddenly when Aloine dropped her legs and leaned back in the hard, plastic chair.

"I can't deal with this. It was so much easier when I thought my parents were already dead. I _knew_ who I was. I knew what I was. Do you have any idea what it's like to suddenly realize that everything you thought was real turns out to be a complete joke? I feel like such an idiot. I don't know what to do."

Amanda scooted a little closer to Aloine.

"You..you could come live with me and my mom. I mean, you can have a new start, in a new city. No one will know who you are."

Aloine stared blankly across the room, as if contemplating the idea. After another minute of silence, Aloine stood; her fists clenched.

"No. I know exactly what I have to do."

"Hm? And what's that?"

Conder walked back into the waiting room, rubbing his neck. He was stuck on the phone with the chief. He had used his apartment fire as an excuse for not showing up which lightened the tongue lashing.

"Aloine, how are you holding up? Is there anything I can do?"

Aloine walked past him and made her way down the hallway with the cop and his daughter right behind.

"Wait, Aloine, where are you going?"

"Rokian is outside. I want to ask him something."

As they exited the hospital, A familiar clicking noise brought their attention above them. Rokian's invisibility cloak drained away revealing the creature atop a light post. Amanda stiffed her gaze up and down the street. If he would have appeared in the middle of the afternoon, he would have caused a major panic,but, since it was almost two in the morning, the only occupants were wandering animals. Rokian jumped from his location and landed right in front of them. Rokian tilted his head at the new short hair his lovely was sporting. Amanda and Conder fidgeted a bit. Conder had to fight his cop instinct of pulling a gun on the creature. Aloine stared up at her mate. The Yautja she loved and hated. Feared and loathed. She looked away.

"Rokain. I just watched my father die. The last proof that I was oo...human. I...I can't live with all I've learned here. What you did to me before? Erasing my memory?"

Rokian nodded reluctantly. Aloine looked back at Amanda and Conder. She liked them. She really did. She could imagine living with them, starting a new life like Amanda said. But, she knew she would be a burden to them. Eventually, her past would catch up to her in the form of a Yautja or a Dark dressed human. She turned back to Rokain and looked into his sweet colored eyes.

"I want you...to do it again."

She heard Amanda start to protest, but was quieted by Conder. Rokian stared sadly back at her. She pulled a rogue strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are...you sure?"

Aloine shook her head.

"I can't stand the thought of who I was with who I am now. I hate you, Rokian and I hate that I hate you. Please, I...I just can't."

Rokian gazed at Lovely for an extended period before pointing to the mountain side.

"They are going to..arrive there...away...from the...city. Where you landed."

Aloine felt a hand touch her arm. It was Amanda.

"Can..we go? To see you leave, I mean? 'Cause if you're gonna forget us anyways..."

Aloine looked back at Rokian, who clicked something. Aloine nodded to him, then turned back and nodded to Amanda and Conder.

"Okay."

*-------*-----

The darken sky was just beginning to lighten as they made it to the mountain side. Instead of taking another cab, Conder stubbornly went back for his car. He'd be damned if he was going to be stuck at the national park. Rokian was waiting for them; he was hidden in a tree. He motioned them to follow. They followed him deep into the wooded area until they came across a small clearing...and what Amanda assumed was Aloine's 'space pod'. Rokian clicked on his gauntlet. The pod beeped and the door of the thing opened just like a classic syfi movie pod. He disappeared inside for several minutes. Suddenly, the pod sprang to life, making a quiet 'whirring' sound. Rokian reappeared and nodded to Aloine. Amanda hugged Aloine tightly.

"I know you won't remember me, but, I'll never forget you. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Aloine nodded sadly.

"Yeah."

Conder tossled her hair.

"You sure have given me quite a story I'll be telling in a looney bin someday."

Conder chuckled before cutting it short by the sudden presence of Rokian right in front of him. The large creature stood staring at him for several minutes before holding out something to him. Conder took the metal object from his hand.

"Thank you...for protecting...Lovely."

Rokian then clicked, put his arm around Aloine and began leading her back to the pod. Conder stared down at the piece of metal. It appeared to be, not metal, but rock. It was a knife carved out of rock with ceremonial beads and feathers attached to it. An old _very old_ native American weapon. Conder clutched the knife in his hand, put his arm around his crying daughter and watched Aloine look back once before disappearing into the ship. The image of her sad face staring back haunted him for the rest of his life.

*---*----*

Aloine smiled brightly at Rokian as they both left Dr. Lowe's home. She couldn't remember why they were there in the first place, but she always had a nice time seeing him. This time, however, he was saddened by someone named Emma passing away.

Rokian placed his arm around her shoulder and looked down at her. He was met by a smiling face. The face he remembered before they left for Earth the second time. She was no longer the sad human she was on Earth months earlier. Everything she learned was no longer in her mind. She was no longer Aloine. She was his lie. She was his wonderful Lovely.

END

**I'm sorry if you were expecting a heartfelt happy ending, but I can't see a human being truly happy living with the race of the Yautja..**

**I'm not done with Spike, kiddies. I still have a short fic in mind with what happened after he was left to die...**


End file.
